'Hlw 
. 


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UC-NRLF 


BLITZEN 

THE  CONJURER 


FRANK  M.BICKNELl 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


The  JOHN  J.  and  HANNA  M.  MCMANUS 
MORRIS  N.  and  CHESLEY  V.  YOUNG 

Collection 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 


m 


"  The  passenger  continued  to  regard  the  boy  " 


Blitzen 
The  Conjurer 

BY 

FRANK  M.  BICKNELL 

With  Illustrations  by 
BART  HALEY 


PHILADELPHIA 
HENRY    ALTEMUS    COMPANY 


Copyright,  1906, 
By  Henry  Altemus 


LOAN  STACK 

GIFT 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I 

Page 
The  Broken  Vase 


CHAPTER  II 
The  Man  in  the  Closet      ...  37 

CHAPTER  III 
A  Serious  Accusation      ......  57 

CHAPTER  IV 
Alvan's  Appeal  to  the  Wizard  .  81 

CHAPTER  V 
The  Real  Incendiary    .  IOI 


[vii] 


858 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Page 
"  The  passenger  continued  to  regard  the  boy  "  .  Frontispiece 

"«  Who  minds  what  old  Jewett  says  ?'"  ....      17 

14  «  You  young  blunderhead!  '  ' 25 

"  As  he  entered  the  long  apartment  "......      39 

"  Extracted  a  glove  from  his  waistcoat  ".....      45 

"  He  was  new  no  longer  " 49 

"  4  I'll  make  it  hot  for  him!'" 61 

"  '  I  came  to  see  if  I  could  n't  do  something  '  '  73 

"  Alvan  resolved  to  see  Mrs.  Hines  "  ....      75 

"  Alvan  observed  the  fatal  result  "  ....      85 

"  «  When  you  loaded  those  reservoirs  '  " 93 

««  '  Why  did  n't  you  speak  of  this  before  ?  '  '        ...      97 

««  «  Try,  Try  !  '  he  commanded  " 113 

"  '  What  do  you  want  with  me  ?  '  '        .           ....    119 
"  Fairly  embarrassed  with  thanks" 127 


[ix] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 


Blitzen  The  Conjurer 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  BROKEN  VASE 

TT      IKE  to  go?     Of  course  I  should  like 
to  go,"  said  the  first  boy,  in  a  tone 
—      at  once  emphatic  and  regretful. 

"Well,  I  am  going,"  announced 
the  second  boy  exultantly.  "I  sneaked  a  fifty 
out  o'  my  pay  Sat'd'y  so  's  I  could.  Told  marm 
I  'd  lost  it.  She  gave  me  a  reg'lar  jawin',  but 
what  do  I  care  so  long  's  I  get  there?" 

The  first  boy  eyed  the  second  boy  with  open 
disapproval.  There  was  a  marked  contrast 
between  the  two.  The  first  boy's  manner  was 
bright  and  alert,  and  he  looked  as  if  he  never 
had  had  a  dirty  face  in  his  life ;  the  second  boy 
looked  as  if  his  never  had  been  entirely  clean, 
and  he  carried  himself  with  a  slouchy  air  that 
told  strongly  in  his  disfavor.  They  were 

[13] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 


standing  at  a  window  in  the  second  story  of 
Jewett's  crockery  and  glassware  store,  and 
were  gazing  down  into  the  alley  between  that 
building  and  the  theatre  known  as  Vickery's 
Opera  House. 

The  room  was  hardly  more  than  a  closet, 
although  it  had  been  used  to  store  empty 
packing-cases,  crates,  and  crockery  hogs 
heads,  several  of  which,  with  a  quantity  of 
straw  protruding  from  them,  now  encum 
bered  the  floor  and  caused  the  place  to 
seem  even  smaller  than  it  actually  was. 

Above  the  window  the  electric-lighting 
wires  entered  from  the  street  circuit  and  were 
laid  along  the  ceiling  to  the  meter  and  thence 
down  the  opposite  wall  on  their  way  to  the 
lower  story. 

Outside,  in  the  alley  near  the  street  corner, 
was  a  theatrical  billboard,  on  which  had  been 
placed  a  poster  bearing  the  likeness  of  a  fine- 
looking  man  with  a  bald  forehead  and  gray 
mustache  and  pointed  beard.  Underneath  this 

[14] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

portrait  could  be  read  in  large  type  the  name 
of  its  original: 

"BLITZEN,  THE  CONJURER." 

The  entertainment  to  be  given  in  the  Opera 
House  that  evening  by  the  world-famed 
magician  was  the  topic  of  conversation  be 
tween  the  two  boys. 

"Say,  Alvan,  do  you  see  that  window  yon 
der  ?"  inquired  the  second  boy,  pointing  across 
to  a  small  opening  in  the  brick  side  wall  of  the 
theatre  building.  "I  '11  bet  that  looks  right 
down  onto  the  stage.  Wonder  if  a  feller  could 
manage  to  peek  in  through  it  and  see  anything 
that  was  going  on." 

"Hardly,  I  should  think,"  replied  his  com 
panion;  "it  's  too  small  and  a  good  deal  too 
high  up." 

"Yes,  I  s'pose  't  is."  The  second  boy  aban 
doned  his  idea  somewhat  regretfully  and, 
drawing  back  a  little  from  the  window,  lighted 

[15] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 


a  cigarette,  after  doing  which  he  carelessly 
dropped  the  half-burned  match  upon  the  lit 
tered  floor. 

The  other  boy,  darting  a  look  of  reproof  at 
him,  hastily  set  his  foot  on  the  tiny  though 
still  glowing  ember.  "I  wonder  how  many 
times  Mr.  Jewett  has  forbidden  you  to  smoke 
here,"  he  exclaimed.  "You  '11  be  setting  the 
place  afire  some  day  unless  you  're  more 
careful." 

"Huh!  no  danger,"  cried  the  culprit  with  a 
disagreeable  laugh.  "Who  minds  what  old 
Jewett  says,  any  way?" 

Almost  at  the  next  moment  he  answered 
his  own  question,  when  his  employer's  sharp, 
high-pitched  voice  was  heard  calling  up  the 
stairway  imperatively : 

"Alvan!  Wallace!  where  are  you?  Why 
are  n't  you  down  here  where  you  ought  to  be, 
straightening  out  this  wareroom,  I  'd  like  to 
know?" 

At  this  summons  the  two  delinquents  turned 

[16] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 


from  the  window  in  guilty  haste.  As  Alvan 
Stowe,  silently  and  with  rapid  steps,  preceded 
Wallace  Hines  across  the  floor  toward  the 


"'  Who  minds  what  old  Jewett  says?     " 

stairway,    the    latter    found    time    to    mutter 
sulkily : 

"The  boss  never  will  let  a  feller  take  a  min- 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

ute  to  catch  his  breath,  he  's  in  such  an  ever 
lasting  fret  to  make  him  do  something  that 
don't  need  to  be  done." 

Mr.  Jewett  was  standing  near  the  foot  of 
the  flight,  and  as  they  hurried  down  he  greeted 
them  with  the  sarcastic  words: 

"I  should  be  pleased  to  have  somebody  tell 
me  what  I  hire  you  boys  for,  or  what  earthly 
use  you  are  to  me." 

He  got  no  response,  and  probably  did  not 
expect  one.  While  he  was  eyeing  the  abashed 
pair  with  severe  displeasure  the  street  door 
opened,  much  to  their  relief,  and  he  turned  to 
meet  the  customer  who  was  entering.  Glad 
to  get  off  without  further  censure,  the  boys 
began  at  once  the  task  of  setting  to  rights  the 
displaced  stock  in  the  long  wareroom. 

"Seems  as  if  he  liked  to  shove  things  'round 
where  they  don't  belong  just  on  purpose  to 
make  us  put  'em  back  again,"  grumbled  Wal 
lace.  "I  '11  bet  he  can  muss  up  this  place  more 
for  the  sake  of  selling  one-twelfth  of  a  dozen 
teacups  than  any  other  man  living." 

[18] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

Alvan  offered  no  response  to  this,  but  con 
tinued  his  work  in  silence  and  with  much  more 
assiduity  than  his  companion  showed.  After 
a  time  Mr.  Jewett  and  his  customer  went 
upstairs,  and  soon  the  two  boys,  released  from 
surveillance,  slackened  their  efforts  and  fell 
at  length  to  "skylarking."  Wallace  began  it; 
he  was  a  veritable  eye-servant  and  seldom 
did  work  that  could  possibly  be  avoided.  In  a 
fit  of  boisterous  humor  he  knocked  Alvan's 
cap  from  his  head  and,  squaring  off  on  the 
defensive,  provoked  him  to  a  sparring  bout. 
In  knocking  off  the  cap  he  had  struck  the 
wearer,  accidentally  perhaps,  a  smart  blow  on 
the  ear.  Alvan  resented  the  injury  with  spirit, 
and  the  blood  of  both  began  to  get  heated. 
They  forgot  momentarily  where  they  were, 
and  danced  around  in  the  narrow  passageway 
regardless  of  the  glass,  china,  and  other  fragile 
material  on  either  side.  By  and  by,  finding 
he  was  getting  worsted,  Wallace  lost  his  tem 
per  and  tried  to  grapple  at  close  quarters  with 

[10] 
2 — Blitzcn    the    Conjurer 


BLITZ  EN  THE  CONJURER 

his  adversary.  Alvan  felt  himself  seized  by 
the  throat  with  no  gentle  hand,  and  stepped 
quickly,  almost  involuntarily  back.  His  foot 
slipped  and  Wallace  gave  him  a  savage  push, 
so  that  his  shoulder  struck  against  some  object 
behind  him.  It  proved  to  be  a  banquet  lamp, 
and  by  the  force  of  the  blow  it  fell  over  against 
a  large  Chinese  vase  which  it  knocked  to  the 
floor,  breaking  it  into  several  pieces. 

Wallace  backed  hurriedly  away,  while  Alvan 
stood  stock  still,  pale  with  consternation.  He 
knew  the  vase  was  valuable,  and  he  trembled 
to  think  what  might  result  from  his  heedless- 
ness.  A  moment  later  Mr.  Jewett  appeared  on 
the  stairway.  From  the  expression  of  his  face 
it  was  only  too  evident  that  he  had  heard  the 
fatal  crash.  Leaving  his  customer  to  find  his 
way  out  unattended,  he  strode  quickly  to  the 
spot  where  the  two  boys,  as  if  petrified,  were 
standing.  There  was  a  grim  tightening  of  his 
thin  lips  and  an  angry  glitter  in  his  red-rimmed 
eyes  that  foreboded  an  unpleasant  scene. 

[20] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

"Which  of  you  two  did  that?"  he  demanded, 
with  a  calmness  plainly  enforced. 

Both  boys  remained  tongue-tied  for  a 
moment,  then  Wallace  said,  in  a  tone  that  was 
half  whine  and  half  snivel : 

"  'T  wa'  n't  me,  Mr.  Jewett.  I  never  touched 
it.  I  never  went  anywhere  a-near  it,  honest 
I  did  n't." 

"Then  it  was  you,"  cried  the  inquisitor, 
bending  his  dark  brows  upon  Alvan.  The 
unhappy  youth  stood  mute,  white  to  the  lips 
with  despair,  and  too  much  overcome  even  to 
try  to  defend  himself.  Mr.  Jewett  extended 
a  threatening  forefinger.  "Go  to  the  book 
keeper  and  get  what  's  due  you,"  he  com 
manded;  then,  raising  his  voice,  he  called: 
"Miss  Farley,  we  are  going  to  dispense  with 
this  young  man's  valuable  services  henceforth. 
Make  up  his  account  and  charge  him  with  the 
value  of  that  Canton  vase  that  came  in  from 
the  custom-house  yesterday." 

In  times  past  Mr.  Jewett  had  suffered  almost 

[21] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

beyond  endurance  from  the  carelessness  of 
boys  whom  he  had  had  in  his  employ.  To  pro 
tect  himself  in  a  measure  from  loss  by  break 
age  at  their  hands,  he  had  finally  tried  the 
plan  of  holding  back  each  week  a  part  of 
their  wages,  to  be  kept  as  a  "safety-de 
posit"  as  long  as  they  remained  with  him. 
When  a  boy  resigned  or  was  discharged 
—usually  it  was  the  latter — he  received 
whatever  of  this  balance  of  wages  might 
be  due  him  after  deducting  the  cash  equiva 
lent  of  the  articles  he  had  broken  during  the 
term  of  his  service.  Even  this  guarantee 
against  financial  loss  was  not  always  sufficient, 
however,  for  the  most  heedless  and  destruc 
tive  boys  were  likely  to  remain  the  shortest 
time,  and  were  almost  certain  of  going  away 
in  their  employer's  debt.  This  explanation 
will  account  for  the  crockery  dealer's  harsh 
and  summary  dismissal  of  Alvan  Stowe, 
although  the  lad  had  been  a  faithful  worker 
hitherto  and  had  succeeded  in  getting  farther 

[22] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

into  his  difficult  good  graces  than  any  of  his 
numerous  predecessors. 

Alvan  had  been  with  Mr.  Jewett  about  si* 
months  and  had  earned  rather  more  than  fifty 
dollars  that  he  had  not  received.  He  was 
naturally  careful  and  conscientious,  and  until 
to-day,  except  for  a  few  unimportant  break 
ages,  had  been  fortunate  in  the  matter  of  debits 
against  his  reserve  fund.  Now,  as  he  stood 
waiting  before  the  book-keeper's  window,  he 
was  miserably  uncertain  whether  he  was  to 
get  any  money  at  all.  After  a  few  moments 
of  calculation  the  young  lady  opened  the  cash 
drawer  and  laid  before  him  bills  and  change 
amounting  to  four  dollars  and  seventeen  cents. 

"I  'm  sorry  it  is  n't  more,  and  I  'm  very  sorry 
you  're  going,  Alvan,"  she  said  pityingly. 

He  picked  up  the  shattered  remains  of  what 
would  have  been  a  fifty-dollar  note,  at  the  least, 
that  morning,  and,  swallowing  a  lump  in  his 
parched  throat,  stalked  away  without  respond 
ing  to  Miss  Farley's  low  spoken  condolences. 

[23] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

Wallace  was  nowhere  to  be  seen,  though  he 
would  not  have  deigned  to  notice  him  if  he  had 
been,  and  Mr.  Jewett  was  busy  at  the  farther 
end  of  the  store,  so  the  disgraced  youth  walked 
forlornly  out,  feeling  much  like  a  stray  dog 
that  has  been  kicked  into  the  gutter.  So  pre 
occupied  was  he  with  his  sudden  disaster  that 
he  fell  into  a  lesser  tribulation  almost  immedi 
ately.  That  is  to  say  he  ran  blindly  against 
the  first  passer-by  he  chanced  to  meet.  A  vio 
lent  outburst  of  strong  language  brought  him 
to  a  realizing  sense  of  the  situation. 

"You  young  blunderhead,"  continued  the 
victim  of  his  heedlessness,  "why  can't  you  look 
where  you  're  going,  and  not  walk  all  over 
folks  like  that?" 

It  was  a  red-faced,  loud-voiced,  flashily- 
dressed  man  by  whom  he  found  himself  con 
fronted,  and  it  was  only  too  evident  that  he 
had  been  drinking  more  than  was  good  for 
him.  With  a  face  grown  almost  as  high-col 
ored  as  the  man's,  Alvan  stammered  an  apol- 

[24] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 


ogy  and  hurried  on  to  escape  further  vitupera 
tion.  He  knew  the  man  well  enough  to  wish 
to  avoid  a  prolonged  interview.  He  was  James 
Naylor,  owner  of  the  building  in  which  Mr. 


;?*.,   < 


"  '  You  young  blunderhead  !  '  " 

Jewett  did  business.  Alvan  had  been  used  to 
seeing  him  come  into  the  store  the  first  day  of 
every  month  to  collect  his  rent.  Alvan  knew 
that  Miss  Farley  dreaded  his  calls  more  than  a 

[25] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 


little.  If,  by  any  chance,  his  money  was  not 
ready  for  him  on  the  instant  he  was  quite  likely 
to  break  into  rough  abuse  and  complaint;  if, 
on  the  contrary,  it  was  handed  to  him  promptly 
he  would  usually  try  to  make  himself  agree 
able  to  the  young  lady  by  paying  her  compli 
ments,  making  "pretty  speeches"  and  other 
wise  showing  for  her  an  admiration  that  was 
wholly  unv/elcome.  She  always  drew  a  breath 
of  relief  after  he  had  gone.  In  the  town,  Nay- 
lor  was  generally  regarded  as  an  ugly  cus 
tomer,  and  his  manner  of  living  was  looked 
upon  by  good  citizens  with  disapproval.  Ten 
years  earlier  he  had  inherited  from  an  uncle  a 
large  property,  yet,  with  the  horse-racing, 
gambling,  and  other  costly  amusements  he 
continually  indulged  in,  he  was  always  short 
of  money.  It  had  been  predicted  more  than 
once,  by  those  who  were  watching  his  reckless 
career,  that  he  would  go  altogether  to  the  bad 
eventually. 

As  Alvan  walked  on  he  soon  forgot  the  dis- 

[26] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 


agreeable  encounter  with  Naylor.  He  had 
other  things  of  more  importance  to  think  about 
—his  uncertain  future  for  the  principal  one. 
He  was  an  orphan,  what  few  relatives  he  had 
were  far  away,  and  his  present  home  was  a 
boarding-house.  He  had  only  himself  to 
depend  on  for  the  necessaries  of  life.  He  had 
been  suddenly  thrown  out  of  a  place  which  he 
had  tried  hard  to  keep,  at  a  time  when  there 
were  fewer  places  by  far  than  there  were  boys 
eager  to  fill  them. 

He  was  resentful  toward  Mr.  Jewett  for  his 
hasty  action  in  dismissing  him  without  a  more 
careful  inquiry  into  the  facts  of  his  case,  and 
he  was  bitterly  indignant  at  Wallace  Hines. 
The  latter,  though  almost  the  direct  cause  of 
his  downfall,  had  made  the  most  cowardly 
haste  to  clear  his  own  skirts  and  slink  out  of 
all  responsibility.  Of  a  nobler  nature  himself, 
Alvan  had  scorned  to  try  and  palliate  his  fault 
by  accusing  his  comrade,  and  Wallace  had 
meanly  counted  upon  his  acting — or  rather 

[27] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

remaining  passive — in  just  the  way  he  had 
done.  It  was  a  dastardly  advantage  to  take, 
although  not  an  entirely  unlooked-for  one 
from  such  a  boy  as  Alvan  knew  Wallace  to  be. 
Even  the  consideration  that  Wallace  had  a 
mother  and  a  large  number  of  small  brothers 
and  sisters  depending  partly  upon  him  for 
support,  so  that  the  loss  of  his  situation  would 
have  been  a  real  calamity,  did  not  excuse  his 
despicable  conduct. 

"The  little  sneak !  How  I  should  like  to  get 
even  with  him!"  muttered  Alvan,  with  a  vin- 
dictiveness  such  as  he  never  had  shown  before. 
"And  I  will,  too,  if  ever  I  have  a  chance." 

The  course  of  his  wrathful  reflections  was 
here  interrupted  and  he  himself  was  brought 
to  a  standstill  by  a  little  knot  of  persons  which 
had  gathered  upon  the  sidewalk  and  was  over 
flowing  into  the  street.  Its  nucleus  and  cause 
proved  to  be  a  very  small,  ragged,  grimy  and 
forlorn  urchin,  having  half  a  dozen  soiled 
newspapers  under  his  arm,  who  was  sobbing 

[28] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

and  sniffling  piteously.  A  moment  after  Alvan 
stopped  a  well-dressed  man  elbowed  his  way 
into  the  midst  of  the  assemblage  and,  leaning 
over  the  grief-stricken  boy,  asked  in  a  kindly, 
half  jocose  tone: 

"Well!  well!  dear  me!  what  terrible  ca 
lamity  has  been  happening  here?  Wherefore 
this  copious  lachrymal  effusion?  In  simpler 
phrase,  what  are  you  crying  about?" 

The  boy  tried  once  or  twice  to  answer  his 
inquirer,  but  succeeded  only  in  sobbing  harder 
than  ever.  A  larger  lad  with  a  sympathetic 
face,  who  was  standing  near,  volunteered  an 
explanation. 

"He  's  lost  a  quarter,  sir,  all  the  money  he 
had,  an*  he  's  bawlin'  'cause  his  folks  '11  lick 
him  for  losin'  it." 

"Ah !  that  's  bad.    How  did  he  lose  it?" 

"Red  Conlon  tried  to  snatch  his  papers  off 
him  an'  they  had  a  fight.  An'  when  Red 
scooted,  'count  o'  seein'  the  cop  comin',  the 
quarter  was  gone.  He  thinks  'most  likely  Red 

[29] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

took  it,  unless  mebbe  it  might  have  fell  out  of 
his  pocket  an'  dropped  down  the  sewer  hole." 

"He  's  quite  certain  it  is  not  in  his  pocket, 
is  he?" 

"Yes,  sir,  dead  sure.  He  's  went  all  through 
himself — I  mean  he  's  felt  all  over  himself,  an' 
so  've  I,  an'  it  ain't  in  his  clo'es  anywheres." 

The  strange  gentleman  looked  much  inter 
ested.  "Well,  now  I  have  a  pretty  sharp  eye 
for  money,"  he  remarked,  slipping  off  one  of 
his  gloves  and  putting  it  into  his  pocket,  "a 
sharp  eye  and  a  sensitive  touch.  Suppose 
you  let  me  explore  a  little  and  see  what  I  can 
find." 

"Hold  your  noise  now,  Timmy,  an'  leave  the 
gentleman  look,"  enjoined  the  older  boy,  and 
the  younger,  impressed  by  the  stranger's 
kindly  manner,  decided  to  stop  crying  and 
allow  himself  to  be  searched. 

His  well-worn  jacket  had  three  pockets 
opening  from  the  outside.  Two  of  these  the 
strange  gentleman  investigated  without  result, 

[30] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

then  thrust  his  long,  slim  fingers  into  the  third. 

"Ha!  what  's  this,  a  hole?"  he  exclaimed, 
his  face  lighting  up,  and  he  gave  that  part  of 
the  garment  a  slight  shake.  Thereupon  a  coin 
dropped  with  a  clink  to  the  sidewalk.  The 
larger  boy  stooped  quickly  and  picked  it  up — 
it  was  a  twenty-five-cent  piece — and  handed  it 
to  the  stranger,  who  placed  it  in  the  grimy 
palm  of  the  astonished  urchin. 

"There,  my  boy,"  he  said,  "y°u  see  triat  two 
heads  are  better  than  one,  and  four  hands  are 
better  than  two.  Your  money  was  n't  so  badly 
lost  as  you  thought,  eh?" 

The  small  boy,  grateful  no  doubt,  but  too 
bewildered  to  voice  his  thanks,  stared  alter 
nately  at  the  coin  in  his  hand  and  the  face  of 
the  benevolent  stranger,  who,  after  having 
enjoyed  for  a  moment  the  effect  he  had  pro 
duced,  nodded  pleasantly  and  walked  away. 

The  excitement  being  over,  the  crowd  dis 
persed.  Alvan,  whose  mind  had  been  only 
half  diverted  from  his  own  troubles  by  this 

[31] 


BLITZ  EN  THE  CONJURER 

episode,  continued  upon  his  aimless  way.  For 
some  distance  the  two  boys  followed  not  far 
behind. 

"Say,"  he  heard  the  larger  one  exclaim,  in  a 
puzzled  tone,  "that  was  mighty  funny.  I  felt 
in  that  same  place  he  did,  an*  the  quarter 
wa'  n't  there  then,  I  know  it  wa'  n't." 

"I  do'  know,"  returned  the  small  boy,  still 
dazed.  "Did  n't  seem's  if  't  was,  but  how  'd 
it  get  there,  then?" 

"Perhaps  it  was  n't  the  same  quarter,  per 
haps  he  put  it  there  himself,"  suggested  one 
of  the  grown-up  witnesses  of  the  scene. 

"H'm !  well,  mebbe  he  did,  but  he  managed 
it  awful  slick,  for  I  noticed  his  hand  particular, 
an'  there  wa'  n't  a  thing  in  it  that  I  could  see." 

Here  the  boys  turned  into  a  side  street  and 
Alvan  heard  no  more. 

An  hour  and  a  half  later  he  was  still  tramp 
ing.  In  the  meantime  he  had  bethought  him 
self  to  go  in  search  of  possible  work,  but  the 
search  had  been  unsuccessful.  There  were  two 

[32] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

large  crockery  and  glassware  firms  in  town, 
both  of  which  he  had  visited,  but  neither  was 
in  need  of  help.  At  half  a  dozen  other  estab 
lishments  of  different  sorts  his  application  had 
met  with  unfavorable  response.  Discouraged 
and  downcast,  he  was  slowly  making  his  way 
toward  his  boarding-place  when  a  warning 
shout,  the  third  or  fourth  that  had  been 
addressed  to  him,  brought  him  to  a  realizing 
sense  of  his  surroundings.  He  had  started  to 
cross  a  street  without  looking  either  one  way 
or  the  other,  and  had  unwittingly  got  in  the 
path  of  a  rapidly-driven  four-wheeled  cab. 
The  cabman  had  succeeded  in  reining  in  his 
horse  by  pulling  him  almost  upon  his  haunches, 
but  Alvan  jumped  back  only  in  the  nick  of 
time,  else  he  certainly  would  have  fallen  under 
the  iron-shod  hoofs.  While  he  was  trying  to 
collect  his  senses  the  occupant  of  the  vehicle 
thrust  his  head  out  of  the  door. 

"You  had  a  narrow  escape,"  he  remarked, 
in  a  tone  of  much  concern.  "I  trust  you  are 
entirely  uninjured." 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 


At  first  Alvan  was  unable  to  reply.  His 
heart  seemed  to  have  jumped  into  his  throat 
and  to  be  choking  his  utterance.  Finally, 
however,  he  managed  to  say  he  was  not  hurt. 
Instead  of  ordering  his  driver  to  start  on 
again,  the  passenger  continued  to  regard  the 
boy  with  close  and  interested  attention. 

"You  still  look  pale  and  a  trifle  limp,"  he 
said  presently.  "If  you  have  the  time  to  spare 
suppose  you  step  in  here.  I  should  like  to  talk 
with  you." 

Wonderingly  Alvan  accepted  the  invitation, 
and  the  cab  moved  onward.  After  a  moment 
the  man  began  to  ask  him  questions,  which  he 
answered  frankly  and  without  a  thought  of 
hesitation.  There  was  a  certain  gravity  about 
his  new  friend's  face,  as  if  he  might  have  been 
through  some  great  sorrow  in  the  past ;  yet  he 
had  a  pleasing  smile,  and  agreeable  voice  and 
a  manner  that  was  particularly  winning.  In  a 
short  time  he  had  gained  an  idea  of  the  boy's 
unfortunate  situation. 

[34] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

"I  notice  you  don't  say  that  the  breaking 
of  that  vase  was  largely  your  associate's 
fault,"  he  continued,  eyeing  Alvan  shrewdly 
when  he  had  finished  his  tale. 

Alvan  blushed  and  then  laughed  rather  con 
fusedly.  "It  was  n't — entirely,"  he  answered. 

The  other  nodded  comprehensively  and,  pat 
ting  him  on  the  shoulder,  said  by  way  of  con 
solation  : 

"We  must  learn  to  bear  injustice  and  unde 
served  blame  in  this  life,  but  we  hope  all  will 
come  right  in  the  end."  His  face  was  very 
grave  for  a  moment,  then,  laying  a  slender, 
well-gloved  hand  with  a  sort  of  protecting  air 
upon  his  young  companion's  knee,  he  con 
tinued  more  briskly :  "As  you  are  out  of  work 
I  am  glad  I  picked  you  up  instead  of  running 
you  down.  I  may  be  able  to  give  you  some 
thing  to  do — temporarily  at  least.  Will  you 
come  to  my  hotel  with  me,  where  we  can  talk 
over  matters  comfortably?" 

"Yes,  sir,  and  thank  you  very  much," 
[361 

3—Blitgen  the  Conjurer 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

responded  Alvan,  who  had  hardly  recovered 
yet  from  the  daze  of  his  recent  misadventure. 

Indeed,  he  was  half  inclined  to  believe  him 
self  asleep  and  dreaming.  The  man  beside 
whom  he  was  seated  was  the  same  who  had 
figured  as  a  benefactor  to  the  luckless  little 
newsboy  earlier  in  the  day,  and,  furthermore, 
Alvan  now  recognized  in  his  features  the  orig 
inal  of  the  pictured  face,  with  its  high,  noble 
forehead,  its  piercing,  though  kindly  eyes,  its 
gray  mustache  and  pointed  beard,  that  had 
been  displayed  in  hundreds  of  places  through 
out  the  city  during  the  past  week.  Only  a  few 
hours  ago  Alvan  had  been  gazing  longingly 
at  it  on  the  billboard  at  the  corner  of  the 
Opera  House. 

In  fact  he  was  no  other  than  the  celebrated 
"Blitzen,  the  Conjurer." 


[36] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  MAN  IN  THE  CLOSET 

PERHAPS  I  ought  to  tell  you  before 
you    accept    my    offer,"    Blitzen   re 
marked  casually,  "that  my  last  boy 
—whose    duties    will    fall    upon    you — shot 
himself  — " 

"What!  dead?"  broke  in  Alvan,  looking  dis 
turbed.     "Did  he — do  it — purposely?" 

"Oh,  no,"  the  professor  of  magic  hastened 
to  answer ;  "the  shooting  was  quite  accidental. 
I  trust  you  did  n't  infer  that  he  put  an  end  to 
his  life  because  he  found  me  too  hard  a  task 
master,"  he  added,  with  the  suspicion  of  a 
twinkle  in  his  eye.  "The  hurt  was  more 
painful  than  serious.  The  cartridge  was  blank. 
He  wounded  himself  in  the  hand  while  loading 
a  pistol  for  one  of  my  little  public  experiments. 
[37] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

He  is  now  in  the  hospital.  I  am  not  sure  that 
I  shall  not  use  my  influence  in  finding  him  a 
place  elsewhere  when  he  comes  out.  I  hardly 
care  to  take  him  back.  He  was  too  careless  to 
suit  me  perfectly." 

"Don't  you — do  you  think  I  shall  be  any 
better?"  Alvan  asked,  in  some  embarrassment. 
Much  as  he  coveted  a  place  in  the  conjurer's 
employ,  he  did  not  wish  to  secure  it  under 
false  pretenses.  "After  my  breaking  that  vase 
this  morning  are  you  sure  you  would  n't  find 
me  too  careless  also?"  he  queried,  with  an 
uneasy  laugh. 

"I  don't  fear  it,"  Blitzen  replied  quietly. 
"Circumstances  were  against  you  there;  let 
us  hope  they  will  atone  and  be  for  you  in 
future.  No,"  he  went  on,  eyeing  the  boy  criti 
cally,  "I  surmise  that  you  have  rather  a  deli 
cate  touch  and  a  steady  hand.  That  you  suc 
ceeded  in  keeping  your  position  among  the 
glassware  and  china  for  six  months  would  indi 
cate  as  much,  certainly.  The  mishap  this 
morning  I  don't  count." 

[38] 


As  he  entered  the  long  apartment 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

"Thank  you,  sir,"  said  Alvan  gratefully.  "I 
did  try  hard  to  be  careful,  and  with  you  I  will 
try  harder  than  ever — if  you  will  give  me  the 
chance."  He  might  have  added  that  while  it 
had  not  always  been  an  agreeable  task  to  serve 
the  hasty-tempered  Mr.  Jewett,  he  looked  for 
ward  with  eagerness  to  doing  his  best  for  the 
new  friend  whose  kindly  face  had  won  his 
immediate  confidence. 

"Very  good;  I  think  we  shall  have  no 
trouble  together,"  said  the  wizard,  patting  him 
amiably  on  the  shoulder.  "Now  suppose  we 
ratify  our  compact  by  going  to  luncheon,  if 
you  feel,  as  I  do,  like  eating  something." 

Although  the  excitement  of  various  kinds 
that  he  had  passed  through  had  somewhat 
diminished  Alvan's  appetite,  he  made  no  objec 
tion  to  following  his  new  employer  to  the  hotel 
dining-room.  Yet  as  he  entered  the  long 
apartment,  filled  with  well-dressed  people,  he 
rather  wished  he  could  have  been  allowed  to 
go  home  first  so  as  to  put  on  his  Sunday  suit 
[41] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 


and  polish  his  shoes.  The  attire  of  Blitzen 
himself  was  irreproachable ;  his  glossy  hat,  his 
speckless  gloves  and  his  mirror-like  patent- 
leathers  especially  might  all  have  been  donned 
for  the  first  time.  As  he  walked  slowly  down 
toward  one  of  the  farther  windows  nearly 
every  eye  in  the  room  was  turned  upon  him, 
and  whispers  of  "Blitzen!"  were  repeatedly 
audible  to  Alvan,  who  brought  up  the  rear,  and 
who  could  not  but  feel  rather  proud  of  being 
seen  in  such  distinguished  company.  So  well 
used  to  public  appearances  was  the  renowned 
magician  that  he  paid  no  particular  attention 
to  all  this,  or  feigned  not  to  do  so,  although 
no  doubt  his  keen  perceptions  took  in  every 
minutest  detail  of  the  sensation  he  was 
creating. 

Arrived  at  a  table,  which  evidently  had  been 
reserved  for  him,  he  motioned  Alvan  to  a  seat. 
He  himself,  however,  remained  standing  and 
facing  down  the  apartment  so  that  every  one 
who  chose  to  look  that  way  could  get  a  full 

[42] 


BLITZ  EN  THE  CONJURER 

view  of  him.  He  gave  his  hat  and  overcoat  to 
the  waiter,  and  began  slowly  and  deliberately 
to  draw  off  his  gloves.  The  first  one  was  no 
sooner  removed  than  in  a  most  astonishing 
manner  it  disappeared.  With  a  well  simulated 
start  he  turned  upon  the  waiter. 

"What  have  you  done  with  my  glove?"  he 
demanded. 

"Who?  me?  I  ain't  tech  yo'  glub,  suh,"  pro 
tested  the  negro  earnestly. 

"H'm!"  returned  the  wizard,  pretending 
incredulity,  "see  that  you  take  better  care  of 
this  one,"  and  pulling  off  the  second  glove,  he 
rolled  it  into  a  ball  and  went  through  the 
motion  of  handing  it  to  the  man.  "Got  it?"  he 
asked. 

The  waiter  had  been  keeping  his  big  eyes 
very  wide  open,  but  they  opened  still  wider 
now.  "No,  suh,  I  sho'ly  ain't,"  he  answered 
in  ludicrous  amazement,  for  he  thought  he  had 
seen  the  glove  drop  into  his  palm,  yet  it  was 
not  there,  and  the  magician,  opening  his  own 
hand,  showed  that  to  be  empty  also. 

[431 


BLITZ  EN  THE  CONJURER 

"Dear!  dear!  two  gloves  gone  in  one  day!'* 
Blitzen  exclaimed,  as  if  greatly  vexed.  "Per 
haps,  however,  they  are  not  lost  beyond  recov 
ery,"  he  continued,  and,  pouncing  suddenly 
upon  the  darkey,  he  extracted  a  glove  from  the 
opening  in  his  waistcoat  and  its  mate  from 
under  his  shirt  collar  at  the  back  of  his  neck. 
Eyeing  the  man  reproachfully,  he  rolled  the 
pair  together  and  placed  them  under  a  tumbler 
which  he  covered  with  a  napkin.  Still  he  did 
not  seem  altogether  satisfied,  and,  after  hesi 
tating  a  moment,  he  said,  addressing  Alvan : 

"One  can't  be  too  sure.  Before  I  sit  down 
suppose  you  lift  that  cloth." 

Alvan  raised  the  napkin,  and  was  dum- 
founded  to  see  that  there  was  nothing  beneath 
the  glass. 

"Humph!  I  suspected  as  much,"  cried  Blit 
zen.  "Do  me  the  favor  to  search  our  friend 
here!" 

The  negro  was  now  fairly  speechless,  so  that 
his  bewilderment  could  scarcely  have  been 

[44] 


BLITZEX  Till':  C().\JURER 


added  to  when  Alvan  drew  from  one  of  his 
inner  pockets  a  pair  of  gloves,  the  same  to  all 


"  Extracted  a  glove  from  his  waistcoat  " 

appearance  that  had  lately  been  covered  by 
the  tumbler. 

The  magician  sat  down  amid  a  ripple  of 
laughter  and  a  murmur  of  applause  from  the 

[45] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 


spectators,  for  everybody  in  the  room  had  been 
watching  this  little  comedy  with  vivid  interest. 

"All  that  by  way  of  advertisement,"  he 
remarked  in  a  low  tone  to  Alvan.  "I  use  just 
five  gloves  in  that  little  experiment.  Perhaps 
you  can  study  out  how  I  - 

The  sentence  remained  uncompleted,  for  the 
speaker  seemed  to  have  forgotten  all  else  to 
stare  with  a  strange  expression  at  a  man  who 
had  just  entered  the  room.  Noting  this,  as 
well  as  a  sudden  loss  of  color  from  his  patron's 
cheeks,  Alvan  turned  involuntarily  to  discover 
what  had  been  the  cause  of  his  agitation. 

"That  is  Mr.  Naylor,  my  late  employer's 
landlord,"  he  volunteered,  on  recognizing  the 
new  comer. 

"Ye — yes,  we  have — I — I  know  it.  We  were 
acquainted — once,"  Blitzen  returned,  in  an 
unsteady  voice.  He  said  nothing  more,  and 
Alvan  was  left  in  doubt  as  to  whether  he  was 
too  much  interested,  or  not  enough  so,  in 
Naylor  to  wish  to  talk  about  him.  Apparently, 

[46] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

however,  the  sight  of  the  man  had  taken  away 
most  of  his  appetite.  He  ate  scarcely  any 
thing,  spoke  not  at  all,  and  it  was  only  when- 
after  dropping  beside  his  plate  a  handsome  fee 
for  the  waiter — he  had  left  the  dining-room 
that  his  customary  serenity  began  to  return. 
The  duties  of  the  new  assistant  to  the  pro 
fessor  of  legerdemain  were  light  in  the  outset, 
and  it  may  be  added  that  his  wages,  above  his 
living  and  travelling  expenses,  were  light  also. 
He  was  entrusted  with  the  care  of  certain 
pieces  of  the  simpler  apparatus,  and  there  fell 
to  him  also  the  clearing  away  of  the  litter  after 
the  tricks,  or  "experiments,"  as  Blitzen  pre 
ferred  to  call  them.  Such  articles  as  scattered 
playing  cards,  colored  ribbons,  little  flags, 
paper  shavings,  bran,  etc.,  which  were  strewn 
recklessly  about  the  stage  by  the  performer, 
he  was  expected  to  collect  or  sweep  up  and 
take  care  of.  This  included  the  gathering  up 
and  replacing  in  packets  of  the  brilliantly  col 
ored  artificial  flowers  which  seem  to  be  pro- 

[47] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

duced  from  nowhere  out  of  nothing  in  the  ever- 
popular  cornucopia  trick.  This  of  itself  alone 
involved  an  immense  amount  of  labor,  as  a 
hundred  of  them  when  closed  and  confined  by 
a  rubber  band  could  be  held  concealed  in  the 
palm  of  the  hand,  although  when  allowed  to 
unfold  by  springing  open  they  would  fill  a 
good-sized  basket. 

The  formal  installation  of  Alvan  Stowe  as 
aid  to  Blitzen  the  Conjurer  was  accompanied 
by  one  rather  curious  ceremony.  He  was 
required  to  take  a  solemn  oath  before  a  notary 
public,  and  also  to  sign  a  written  declaration 
in  the  presence  of  the  same  functionary,  that 
he  never  would  talk  about  or  disclose  to  a  liv 
ing  person  the  slightest  hint  of  his  employer's 
professional  secrets.  And  the  solemnity  with 
which  this  promise  was  exacted  would  almost 
certainly  have  made  it  binding  upon  a  far  less 
conscientious  boy  than  Alvan. 

At  the  end  of  the  week  the  great  necro 
mancer  finished  his  engagement  at  Vickery's 

[48] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

Opera  House  and  went  away  with  his  com 
pany  to  the  place  where  the  next  date  was 
booked.  It  was  more  than  four  months  later 
when  Alvan  saw  his  own  city  again.  At  the 
beginning  of  September  Blitzen  revisited  it  to 
open  with  a  matinee  on  Labor  Day.  By  now 
the  new  boy  felt  that  he  was  new  no  longer. 


"  He  was  new  no  longer  " 

He  had  travelled  far,  seen  much,  and,  in  his 
own  opinion  at  least,  was  quite  the  veteran. 
As  for  his  relations  with  his  employer,  they 
had  been  pleasant  from  the  start  and  bade  fair 
to  continue  so. 

"Alvan,"  said  the  magician  on  the  morn 
ing  of  the  opening  day  of  the  second  engage- 
[4*1 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

ment,  "as  you  will  have  seen  from  my  advance 
notices,  I  purpose  presenting  to  the  public  of 
this  city  this  afternoon,  for  the  first  time  on 
any  stage,  my  illusion  which  I  have  chosen  to 
call  'Dismemberment/  The  apparatus  I  am  to 
use  will  come  to  the  theatre  early  this  fore 
noon,  and  will  be  set  up  experimentally  at 
once.  I  am  going  to  ask  you  to  see  that  it  is 
in  proper  order,  although  of  course  I  shall  take 
extra  precaution  of  inspecting  it  personally 
just  before  the  performance.  You  are  work 
ing  in  with  us  very  well,  and  are  doing  even 
better  service  than  I  had  hoped  for.  It  is  a 
great  relief  to  have  somebody  at  hand  whom  I 
can  trust  and  depend  upon.  As  you  have  long 
ago  discovered,  there  are  almost  countless 
details  to  be  looked  after  to  ensure  the  smooth 
running  of  this  business,  and  a  man  in  my 
position  needs  the  very  surest  and  most 
capable  assistants.  I  shall  count  on  you 
more  and  more  to  relieve  me  of  certain 
responsibilities." 

[50] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

Alvan  flushed  with  pleasure  at  this  token  of 
his  patron's  trust  in  him,  and  promised  to  do 
his  very  best  to  merit  it. 

"Now  as  to  this  'Dismemberment'  illusion," 
Blitzen  went  on,  "it  is  not  a  new  experiment 
strictly  speaking,  but  rather  an  adaptation  of 
my  own  of  certain  principles  which  have  been 
used  by  professors  of  magic  many  times 
already.  To  describe  it  briefly  as  it  will  be 
seen  from  the  auditorium,  a  living  man  stand 
ing  in  full  view  on  the  stage,  after  vanishing 
and  reappearing  several  times,  begins  to  shed, 
one  at  a  time,  his  arms,  his  legs  and  at  length 
his  head,  all  five  of  these  parts  of  his  anatomy 
going  off  in  different  directions.  After  a  brief 
interval  the  errant  members  come  back  and 
rejoin  themselves  to  the  trunk,  and  the  man 
steps  forward  to  the  footlights,  as  whole  as  if 
he  never  had  apparently  been  taken  to  pieces. 

"You  know  enough  of  similar  deceptions 
to  know  that  they  depend  upon  an  optical 
illusion  of  one  sort  or  another.  My  main  reli- 

r  K  1  I 

4—BHtzc'n   tkti   Conjurer 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

ance  for  the  production  of  this  trick  is  a  large 
plate  of  perfectly  transparent  glass  that  can  be 
seen  through  without  the  spectator's  suspect 
ing  its  presence  when  there  are  lights  behind  it 
only,  but  which  acts  as  a  flawless  mirror  when 
there  is  complete  darkness  at  the  back  and  an 
illumination  in  front.  This  sheet  of  glass  is 
to  be  inclined  toward  the  spectators  at  an 
angle  of  forty-five  degrees,  and  when  called 
into  play  as  a  mirror  will  reflect  certain  appear 
ances  from  under  the  stage — through  an  open 
trap — which  would  otherwise  be  invisible  from 
the  seats  in  the  house,  and  which  appear  to  be 
taking  place  at  the  back  of  the  stage.  When 
not  in  use  this  glass  will  be  raised  and  remain 
suspended  in  the  flies  above  the  stage.  As  I 
shall  be  busy  with  other  matters  I  wish  you  to 
take  it  upon  yourself  to  see  that  it  is  always 
in  the  proper  position  when  needed,  and  well 
out  of  the  way  when  not." 

"Very  well,  sir,"  Alvan  responded,  "I  will 
attend  to  it." 

[52] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

About  two  hours  later  Alvan  finished  help 
ing  set  the  stage  for  part  first  of  the  after 
noon  program.  The  other  assistants  had  left 
and  he  was  taking  a  last  look  around  to  make 
sure  that  all  the  gilded  furniture,  showy  appa 
ratus  and  other  impressive  paraphernalia  was 
in  order.  By  and  by,  as  he  turned  his  gaze 
upward  he  noticed  that  the  big  sheet  of  glass 
that  was  to  be  let  down  for  the  final  and 
crowning  experiment  of  the  performance  had 
been  suspended  in  such  a  manner  that  if  low 
ered  as  it  was  it  would  present  its  edge  instead 
of  its  face  to  the  "house."  It  had  been  placed 
in  this  way  in  order  to  keep  it  from  any  chance 
of  being  knocked  against  by  the  scenery  when 
it  should  be  moved.  Alvan  made  a  mental 
note  to  remember  to  have  it  turned  so  as  to 
face  in  the  right  direction  after  it  was  lowered, 
else  a  hitch  and  delay  in  the  presentation  of  the 
illusion  would  result. 

While  his  eyes  were  raised  he  observed 
something  else  that  caused  him  to  forget  for 

[53] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

the  time  the  matter  that  had  seemed  so  impor 
tant  a  moment  earlier.  The  stage  was  com 
paratively  dark,  the  upper  part  being  particu 
larly  so,  and  for  this  reason  the  big  piece  of 
glass  had  become  a  mirror  in  which  a  portion 
of  the  side  wall  of  the  stage  was  reflected. 
Directly  in  line  with  this  reflection  was  an 
open  window  through  which  could  be  seen 
another  window.  The  latter  was  the  same  one 
at  which  Alvan  and  Wallace  Hines  had  been 
standing  on  the  memorable  morning  that  the 
Chinese  vase  was  broken.  The  light  was  suf 
ficiently  strong  for  Alvan  to  see  through  the 
mirrored  open  window  into  the  room  beyond 
quite  distinctly. 

It  presented  much  the  same  appearance  now 
as  when  he  had  been  in  Mr.  Jewett's  employ. 
There  was  the  usual  litter  of  straw-filled 
boxes,  barrels  and  tierces,  and  in  every  other 
way  it  wore  its  old  familiar  aspect.  But  what 
aroused  the  boy's  especial  attention  was  the 
fact  that  the  room  had  an  occupant.  The  day 

[54] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 


being  a  holiday  the  store  was  closed  so  the 
person  he  saw  could  hardly  be  Mr.  Jewett,  who 
on  such  occasions  was  wont  to  remain  at  his 
home  some  miles  out  of  the  city.  Who,  then, 
was  it?  Some  one  whose  right  to  be  there  was 
questionable  perhaps.  He  stood  with  his  back 
toward  the  window,  over  by  the  wall  near  the 
electric  light  meter,  and  the  loss  of  distinct 
ness  by  reflection  and  distance  was  too  great 
for  the  observer  to  make  out  who  he  was  or 
what  might  be  the  exact  nature  of  his  occupa 
tion.  It  was  certain,  however,  that  he  was 
intently  busied  in  doing  something. 

After  a  few  moments  he  suddenly  turned 
and,  coming  to  the  window,  cast  a  quick,  fur 
tive  glance  around,  then  closed  it.  Meantime 
Alvan  had  recognized  him  as  James  Naylor, 
the  owner  of  the  building,  and  had  seen  also 
that  he  had  in  his  hand  a  large  open  jackknife. 

Alvan  began  to  reflect  rapidly.  As  a  leased 
property,  he  reasoned,  is  supposed  to  belong 
for  the  time  to  the  lessee,  Mr.  Naylor,  under 

[55] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

ordinary  circumstances,  would  no  more  have 
free  access  to  the  crockery  store  than  if  he 
were  not  the  actual  owner  of  it.  That  his 
tenant  knew  and  approved  of  his  being  there 
Alvan  seriously  doubted. 

It  happened  that  a  pair  of  opera  glasses,  to 
be  used  by  Blitzen's  assistant,  Gustavus.  dur 
ing  a  so-called  "mind-reading  seance,"  lay  on 
a  table  in  the  wings.  Alvan  stepped  out  and 
got  them  and  returned  to  his  former  position. 
Hurriedly  adjusting  the  focus  to  suit  his  eyes, 
he  brought  them  to  bear  upon  the  reflected 
interior  of  the  little  room  across  the  alley. 
Although  the  clearness  of  the  picture  thus 
obtained  still  left  something  to  be  desired,  he 
decided  after  a  few  seconds  that  he  could  guess 
what  Naylor  was  doing.  And  if  he  had 
guessed  correctly  it  would  have  been  very 
strange  indeed  if  he  were  doing  it  with  Mr. 
Jewett's  knowledge  and  approval. 


[56] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 


CHAPTER  III 

A  SERIOUS  ACCUSATION 

AFTER  leaving  the  theatre  Alvan  went 
to   the   front   door   of  the   crockery 
store     and,     without     making     any 
unnecessary  noise,  tried  it  to  see  if  it 
was  fastened.     It  proved  to  be,  as  he  had 
expected,  and  he  walked  away  in  a  troubled 
state  of  mind.    He  had  not  gone  far,  however, 
before  his  ponderings  were  interrupted  by  an 
unceremonious    slap    on    the    back    and    the 
words : 

"Hulloa,  old  feller!  how  are  you  anyhow?" 
With  a  frown  at  the  boisterousness  of  the 
salutation,  he  looked  up  and  found  himself 
face  to  face  with  his  former  comrade,  Wallace 
Hines.  This  was  the  first  time  they  had  met 
since  the  Canton  vase  disaster.  Although 

[57] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

Alvan  was  far  from  regretting  having  left  the 
crockery  store,  the  particular  manner  of  his 
leaving  remained  an  unpleasant  memory  with 
him,  and  his  feelings  toward  both  Mr.  Jewett 
and  Wallace  were  still  sore.  But  Wallace 
seemed  to  think  there  was  nothing  in  that 
little  episode  for  him  to  blush  over.  Evidently 
his  conscience  was  not  one  of  the  sort  that  is 
affected  by  nice  scruples.  He  addressed  his 
old  associate  with  an  expansive  grin  on  his 
freckled  visage,  quite  as  if  they  had  parted  on 
the  best  possible  terms.  He  overlooked 
entirely  the  other's  cool  reception  of  his  greet 
ing,  and  began  at  once  to  ply  him  with  ques 
tions,  meanwhile  noting  in  evident  admira 
tion,  perhaps  not  unmixed  with  secret  envy, 
his  neat  suit  of  clothes  and  his  generally  spruce 
appearance. 

Not  wishing,  for  several  reasons,  to  be  com 
municative  about  his  own  personal  affairs, 
Alvan  turned  the  current  of  questions  upon  the 
questioner  and  feigned  an  interest  in  his  wel- 

[58] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

fare  that  easily  enough  set  his  tongue  to 
wagging. 

"Are  you  with  Mr.  Jewett  now?"  Alvan 
asked. 

"Ho!  I  ain't  been  with  old  Jewett  for  a 
long  while,"  was  the  answer,  in  a  tone  as 
scornful  as  if  the  china  and  glassware  dealer 
had  been  the  very  scum  of  the  earth.  "He 
was  too  mighty  particular  for  me.  I  cracked 
an  old  pitcher  about  a  week  after  you  left,  and 
he  flew  into  a  fit,  'most,  about  it,  so  I  up  and 
quit.  I  've  been  in  half  a  dozen  places  since 
then,"  Wallace  concluded,  with  a  reckless 
laugh. 

Alvan  could  well  believe  this  statement,  and 
he  suspected  that  he  had  not  stayed  long  in 
any  of  the  half-dozen.  He  looked  as  shabby 
and  soiled  as  if  he  had  not  had  a  cent  to  call 
his  own  for  at  least  six  months. 

"I  was  with  old  Naylor  last,"  he  went  on. 
"You  remember  Jim  Naylor,  o'  course.  I 
did  n't  stay  long,  though  that  was  n't  my 

[59] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

fault."  He  paused  a  moment,  scowling 
angrily.  "Say,  Al,"  he  presently  continued, 
in  a  confidential  tone  and  making  the  confes 
sion  rather  sheepishly,  "I  'd  got  kind  o'  sick  o' 
moving  'round  from  pillar  to  post  so,  and — 
and  mother  she  needed  what  I  could  earn 
awful  bad;  so  when  old  Naylor  give  me  this 
chance  to  help  about  his  stable  I  did  try 
mighty  hard  to  suit.  But  it  wa'  n't  the  least 
bit  of  use.  He  's  just  about  the  ugliest,  most 
cantankerous,  unreasonable  customer  I  ever 
'tempted  to  tackle,  and  don't  you  forget  it. 
One  morning  he  come  out  there  awful  cross 
and  crabbed,  and  just  because  some  little  thing 
wa'  n't  precisely  all  right  about  one  o'  the  har 
nesses  I  had  charge  of  he  flew  out  forty  ways 
to  once  and  give  me  the  shake.  And  that 
wa'  n't  the  worst  of  it  either.  I  got  my  mad 
'way  up  and  give  him  some  back  talk,  like  any 
body  would  at  being  bounced  for  nothing,  and 
he — kicked  me  out  into  the  driveway." 

"That    was    rather — severe,"     commented 

[60] 


I  '11  make  it  hot  for  him 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

Alvan,  who  could  not  feel  entirely  sure  the 
little  scamp  had  not  deserved  all  he  got. 

"He  '11  be  sorry  for  that  kick  some  day," 
Wallace  declared,  breaking  out  afresh  at  the 
memory  of  his  unhandsome  treatment,  "and 
don't  you  forget  that  either.  He  '11  get  come 
up  with  yet.  I  '11  make  it  hot  for  him,  and  I 
told  him  so  to  his  face." 

"Seems  to  me  I  would  n't  talk  quite  so 
loud,"  cautioned  Alvan.  "Remember  we  are 
in  the  public  street." 

"I  don't  care  a  rap  who  hears  me,"  returned 
the  other  boy  defiantly,  yet  lowering  his  voice 
nevertheless,  "I  '11  just  make  it  hot  for  him." 

"How  do  you  propose  doing  it?"  Alvan 
inquired,  eyeing  him  curiously. 

"Oh,  I— I  don't  know,"  Wallace  answered, 
wagging  his  head  with  vague  menace,  "but 
my  chance  '11  come,  and  then  he  'd  better  look 
out.  Though  he  's  going  to  the  Old  Harry 
pretty  fast  without  anybody's  help,"  he  added, 
smiling  maliciously.  "He  's  drinking  like 

[03] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

everything,  and  losing  money  right  and  left 
at  cards  and  horse-racing.  Danny  Doane,  his 
coachman,  told  me  that  and  a  lot  of  other 
things,  and  he  'd  ought  to  know.  Old  Nay- 
lor  's  a  terrible  plunger  and  he  never  comes 
out  on  top.  He  's  short  of  cash  just  about  the 
whole  time,  and  hardly  knows  which  way  to 
turn  to  lay  hands  on  another  cent.  That 
money  he  got  from  his  rich  uncle  must  be 
pretty  much  all  gone,  and  he  '11  be  poorer  than 
he  was  in  the  first  place  before  he  's  many 
months  older — that  's  what  Danny  thinks." 

Although  Wallace's  information  was  not 
wholly  without  interest,  his  loud-mouthed 
manner  of  giving  it  was  so  far  displeasing  to 
Alvan  that  he  took  the  first  decent  pretext  for 
parting  company  with  him.  He  then  resumed 
his  former  train  of  reflections,  without,  how 
ever,  being  able  to  bring  it  to  a  satisfactory 
conclusion.  If  Mr.  Jewett  had  not  lived  so  far 
away,  and  if  he  had  been  on  speaking  terms 
with  him,  he  might  have  gone  and  told  him 

[64] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

what  he  had  seen,  and  perhaps  thus  have  got 
it  off  his  own  mind.  He  felt  loath  to  seek 
counsel  of  Blitzen  because  any  mention  of 
Naylor  must  inevitably  be  disagreeable  to 
him.  At  some  time  in  the  past  something  of 
a  particularly  unpleasant  nature  must  have 
happened  between  Blitzen  and  Naylor,  and 
Alvan  did  not  wish  to  run  the  risk  of  recalling 
its  memory  to  his  kind  employer  by  so  much 
as  the  mention  of  James  Naylor's  name. 

Late  that  night  Alvan  was  partly  awakened 
by  a  clanging  of  gongs,  a  rattling  of  wheels 
and  a  quick  clatter  of  hoofs  in  the  street  below 
his  window.  He  dimly  realized  that  there 
might  be  a  fire  somewhere  in  the  neighbor 
hood  ;  but  he  had  become  too  well  accustomed 
to  midnight  noises  of  all  sorts  during  his  hotel 
life  to  heed  them  especially,  and  he  merely 
turned  over  and  went  off  sound  asleep  almost 
immediately.  He  did  not  wake  again  until 
long  after  the  coming  of  daylight. 

It  was  usual  for  Alvan  to  take  breakfast 
[66] 


BLITZ  EN  THE  CONJURER 

with  one  or  more  of  the  members  of  the  "Blit- 
zen  Company."  This  morning  he  was  joined 
at  table  by  Gustavus,  the  conjurer's  right- 
hand  man,  and  his  wife,  both  of  whom  had 
prominent  parts  in  the  "show."  Mrs.  Gus 
tavus  was  an  American  born,  but  her  husband 
was  of  German  parentage,  although  he  had 
come  to  the  United  States  in  boyhood.  He 
was  a  large  blond-haired  young  fellow,  and 
possessed  of  a  phlegmatic  temperament  that 
no  ordinary  happening  seemed  able  to  dis 
turb.  Now,  however,  certain  signs  of  excite 
ment  were  visible  in  his  usually  placid  counte 
nance.  He  had  a  newspaper  in  his  hand,  and 
he  remarked  as  he  sat  down,  forgetting  to 
return  the  boy's  morning  salutation: 

"That  was  what  you  might  call  a  close  shav 
ing.  Did  you  see?  We  escaped  from  being 
scorched  last  night,  eh?" 

"Close  shave,  Gus,"  corrected  his  wife.  "He 
means  a  close  shave,  Alvan — by  last  night's 
fire,  you  know." 

[66] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

"What!  it  was  n't  the  hotel,  was  it?"  Alvan 
exclaimed,  recalling  the  disturbance  that  had 
awakened  him.  "I  did  n't  hear  any  sounds  of 
alarm  in  the  corridor.  The  walls  of  my  room 
were  n't  warm  enough  to  keep  me  awake. 
Was  the  fire  really  near  us?" 

"Not  near  us  in  our  beds,  no,"  replied  the 
German.  "I  referred  not  to  ourselves  per 
sonally  so  much  as  to  our  show  that  was  so 
closely  to  being  singed.  The  Opera  House, 
it  went  nearly  up  in  smoke." 

"Gustavus,  you  don't  mean  that  at  all," 
again  interposed  the  lady.  His  queer  English 
seemed  to  trouble  her  far  more  than  it  did 
him.  "You  mean  it  nearly  went  up  in  smoke 
—nearly  caught  fire,  that  is." 

"Exactly,  that  is  what  I  said,"  returned  the 
German,  with  undisturbed  serenity.  "The 
building  at  the  next  doorway  to  the  Opera 
House  is — well,  it  is  not  any  more  there.  It 
has  been  burned  to  the  finish." 

"The  crockery  store — was  it  Jewett's  crock 
ery  store?"  Alvan  inquired  eagerly. 

S—Blitzen   the   Conjurer       [G/ ] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

"So  I  think,"  Gustavus  answered,  referring 
to  the  paper.  "Yes.  Occupants,  Jewett  & 
Co.,  partially  insured.  Owner  of  building, 
James  Naylor,  fully  insured." 

"How  did  it  catch?  What  caused  the  fire?" 
demanded  the  boy  breathlessly. 

"I  will  see,"  said  Gustavus,  and,  consulting 
the  paper  again,  he  began  to  skim  from  the 
lengthy  account  of  the  fire  that  covered  the 
space  of  several  columns :  "Origin  unknown — 
thought  may  be  incendiary — yesterday  a  holi 
day — no  fire  lighted  by  occupants.  So !  well, 
lucky  for  us  is  it  the  theatre  a  strong  fire-re 
sisting  wall  had;  elsewise  might  the  stage  by 
the  conflagration  have  been  attacked  and 
much  harmful  damage  done.  The  big 
plate  glass  should  we  have  lost,  also  much 
other  costful  and  not-easily-to-be-replaced  ap 
paratus." 

He  laid  aside  the  paper  and  turned  his 
attention  to  his  breakfast.  Alvan  had  not 
been  listening  to  the  conclusion  of  his  remarks 

[68] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

with  much  heed.  The  injury  to  their 
employer  having  been  happily  averted,  his 
mind  was  free  to  busy  itself  with  speculations 
about  the  building  that  actually  had  been 
burned. 

A  suspicion  was  beginning  to  take  form  in 
his  mind  that  James  Naylor  could  have  cleared 
up  the  mystery  of  the  origin  of  the  fire  had  he 
but  chosen.  According  to  the  newspaper  he 
was  fully  insured  against  loss,  and  Wallace 
Hines  had  declared  he  was  badly  in  need  of 
money.  Might  he  not  be  more  than  willing, 
then,  to  make  a  quick  sale  of  his  property  by 
burning  it  and  collecting  its  value  of  the  insur 
ance  company?  In  short,  had  he  not  himself 
set  the  building  on  fire? 

For  the  next  two  days  Alvan  watched  the 
papers  closely  for  further  comment  upon  the 
fire,  but  he  saw  nothing  that  fell  in  line  with 
his  own  suspicions.  Nobody  so  much  as 
hinted  that  the  person  most  interested  had 
anything  to  do  with  it.  Alvan  began  to  think 
[69] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

he  had  deluded  himself  and  started  out  on  a 
false  trail.  Then,  Thursday  evening,  there 
appeared  an  announcement  of  an  unexpected 
and  startling  nature. 

A  fifteen -year-old  boy,  of  not  very  savory 
reputation,  had  been  arrested  in  the  belief  that 
he  had  been  directly  concerned  in  setting  fire 
to  the  burned  building.  The  name  of  that 
boy  was  Wallace  Hines. 

It  seemed  that  there  were  weighty  grounds 
for  basing  this  charge.  It  was  known  that  he 
had  been  in  the  employ  both  of  Mr.  Jewett  and 
Mr.  Naylor,  and  that  he  had  been  summarily 
discharged  by  each  in  turn  for  unsatisfactory 
service.  It  was  known  further  that  his  past 
record  was  not  exactly  a  shining  one  in  any 
respect,  that  he  had  vaguely  threatened  each 
of  his  former  employers,  that  he  had  been 
heard  to  assert  that  they  would  repent  having 
turned  him  off,  and,  finally,  that  on  the  evening 
of  Labor  Day  he  had  been  seen  loitering  about 
the  destroyed  building  in  what  was  now 
[70] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

thought  to  be  a  suspicious  manner.  To  be 
sure  all  this  furnished  no  direct  evidence  that 
he  had  started  the  fire,  still  there  was  enough 
of  a  circumstantial  nature  to  warrant  his  being 
locked  up  in  the  city  jail  to  await  an  exami 
nation. 

Alvan  was  considerably  shocked  at  this 
piece  of  news.  If  such  a  misfortune  had  hap 
pened  to  his  one-time  associate  a  few  months 
earlier  he  might  have  been  inclined  to  say 
uncharitably  that  it  served  him  right.  He 
recalled  well  his  vindictive  wish  to  "get  even 
with  the  little  sneak."  Here  was  perhaps  a 
chance  to  take  his  revenge,  and  to  take  it  in 
the  very  easiest  possible  manner.  He  would 
simply  have  to  hold  back  and  say  nothing,  to 
let  affairs  take  their  natural  course.  No  one 
would  be  the  wiser,  and  no  one  could  reproach 
him  for  his  action,  or  inaction,  in  the  matter. 
He  believed  Wallace  to  be  innocent  of  the 
charge  laid  against  him,  but  if  nobody  said  a 
word  in  his  favor  there  was  certainly  trouble 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

of  the  gravest  kind  ahead  for  him.  Alvan  had 
reason  to  feel  tolerably  sure  that  if  he  were  to 
have  an  interview  with  a  lawyer  the  informa 
tion  he  could  furnish  might  turn  the  current 
of  suspicion  from  Wallace  to  Naylor,  whether 
the  latter  could  really  be  convicted  or  not. 
Should  he  make  an  attempt  to  do  this?  Some 
how  the  thought  of  "getting  even"  with  Wal 
lace  for  the  wrong  the  latter  had  done  seemed 
less  attractive  now  than  formerly.  It  would 
be  a  terrible  thing  to  be  locked  up  for  a  long 
term  of  years,  and  to  be  locked  up  on  a  false 
conviction,  too.  It  was  a  fate  he  could  not 
wish  for  his  worst  enemy,  and  he  no  longer 
felt  Wallace  to  be  an  enemy  at  all.  More 
over,  apart  from  the  ruin  a  sentence  to  penal 
servitude  would  bring  into  the  boy's  life,  there 
was  his  mother  to  be  considered.  It  would  be 
a  sad  blow  to  Mrs.  Hines  if  her  son  were 
brought  to  trial,  and  a  much  greater  one  if  he 
were  proved  guilty.  Alvan  resolved  to  attempt 
to  see  the  unfortunate  youth  and  satisfy  him- 

[72] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 


self,  if  possible,  that  he  actually  was  innocent, 
although  of  that  he  had  little  doubt.  Through 
the  kindly  intercession  of  Blitzen  he  was 
enabled,  after  some  delay,  to  get  permission  to 
visit  the  prisoner. 

"I  came  to  see  if  I  could  n't  do  something 


came  to  see  if  I  could  n't  do  something  '  ' 


to  cheer  you  up,"  he  announced  to  Wallace, 
whom  he  found  looking  pitiably  forlorn,  and, 
plainly  enough,  a  good  deal  surprised  at 
receiving  a  visitor. 

Stammering  some  incoherent  expressions  of 
gratitude,  Wallace  half  mechanically  yielded  a 
limp  and  dirty  hand  to  the  other's  firm  grasp. 
[73] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

"Of  course  I  know  you  did  n't  do  it,"  Alvan 
continued,  gazing  straight  into  his  eyes  with 
just  the  barest  hint  of  a  question  in  his  own. 

The  prisoner's  glance  did  not  flinch.  "O' 
course  I  did  n't,"  he  protested,  with  even  more 
than  necessary  vehemence,  "and  I  don't  know 
what  they  went  and  took  me  up  for,  I  'm  sure. 
I  never  went  a  near  the  old  place.  That  is  I 
mean  I  was  hanging  'round  the  Op'ra  House, 
o'  course,  because  I  sort  o'  hoped  maybe  I 
might  get  a  chance  to  slip  in  and  see  the  show. 
But  I  would  n't  dast  to  set  afire  to  a  man's 
house  or  anything.  Why,  they  'd  put  me  in 
prison  for  life,  like  's  not,  if  I  got  caught  at  it." 

He  was  voluble  in  his  indignation  over  the 
injustice  that  had  been  done  him.  He  said  a 
good  deal  more  than  there  is  space  to  set  down 
here — perhaps  he  said  too  much,  yet  Alvan 
had  come  to  know  him  well  enough  during 
their  association  under  Mr.  Jewett  to  believe 
he  was  speaking  the  truth.  He  surmised  that 
Wallace  would  have  refrained  from  such  a 
[74] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 


deed  rather  more  through  fear  of  the  possible 
consequences  to  himself  than  from  any  very 


44  Alvan  resolved  to  see  Mrs.  Hines  " 

strong  conscientious  scruples.  Still  if  he  was 
guiltless  of  actual  crime  that  ought  not  to 
count  against  him  in  the  eyes  of  the  law, 

r  "•  r  i 


[75] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

Alvan  did  not  deem  it  prudent,  however,  to 
hold  out  a  too  definite  hope  of  speedy  release, 
lest  through  disappointment  Wallace  might 
sink  into  deeper  dejection  in  the  end. 

"I  hope  you  '11  get  clear  of  this,"  he  con 
tented  himself  with  saying.  "It  strikes  me 
they  can  hardly  find  evidence  enough  to  build 
much  of  a  case  on,  still  less  to  convict  you. 
Keep  a  stiff  upper  lip  any  way  and  try  to  think 
everything  will  finally  come  right." 

Wallace  smiled  rather  forlornly  in  response 
to  this  piece  of  advice,  and  Alvan,  whose  time 
was  up,  went  away. 

On  quitting  the  jail  Alvan  resolved  to  seek 
out  Mrs.  Hines  with  a  view  to  speaking  a 
word  of  comfort  to  her  also.  He  found  the 
poor  woman  in  a  somewhat  peculiar  frame  of 
mind.  From  what  she  said  about  her  son's 
arrest  it  would  seem  as  if  she  were  not  wholly 
certain  of  his  innocence.  While  she  did  not 
put  her  doubts  into  words,  she  appeared  at 
first  to  blame  more  than  pity  him  for 

[76] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

the  disgrace  he  had  brought  upon  himself 
and  the  family.  This  state  of  affairs  so  shocked 
Alvan  that  he  took  up  Wallace's  defence  more 
warmly  than  he  might  have  done  otherwise. 
His  stout  assertion  of  her  son's  innocence  had 
its  effect  upon  her,  and  presently  she  softened 
so  far  as  to  break  down  and  burst  into  tears. 

"Yes,  yes,  I  know  I  had  n't  ought  to  Ve 
said  what  I  did,"  she  exclaimed  remorsefully. 
"He  never  done  it,  and  I  'm  to  blame  for  blam 
ing  him.  Wally  's  a  pretty  middling  good  boy 
in  the  main,  as  boys  go — as  good  's  I  could 
expect  any  way.  I  Ve  tried  to  do  my  duty 
by  him,  but  there  's  near  a  dozen  more  of  'em, 
and  me  a  widow  working  sixteen  hours  and 
more  out  o'  the  twenty-four  to  keep  soul  and 
body  together,  and  o'  course  I  ain't  had,  nor 
could  n't  have  half  time  to  look  after  him  prop 
erly  as  a  growing  boy  'd  ought  to  be  looked 
after.  Wally  may  have  been  a  little  mite  wild 
and  unruly  now  and  then,  but  he  never  'd  have 
done  anything  bad  enough  to  get  put  in  jail 
for,  I  'm  certain  of  that." 
[77] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

"That  's  so,  and  we  '11  do  our  best  to  get 
him  out,"  said  Alvan  soothingly;  and  then,  as 
her  tears  made  him  feel  very  ill  at  ease,  he 
prepared  to  take  his  leave.  Before  doing  so. 
however,  he  bethought  himself  to  add : 

"Now,  Mrs.  Hines,  if  there  is  anything  I 
can  do  for  you  I  wish  you  would  let  me  know. 
Of  course  while  Wallace  is — is  n't  at  work  he 
can't  be  earning  any  money,  and  if — if  you 
would  allow  me  to — to  lend  you  a  little  some 
thing  to  keep  you  along  I  should  be  most 
happy  to  do  so." 

This  offer  was  not  made  without  some 
stammering  and  blushing,  for  it  is  usually  a 
delicate  matter  to  give  alms  when  it  has  not 
been  asked  for,  even  though  it  is  put  in  the 
form  of  a  loan,  but  Mrs.  Hines  took  no  offence ; 
she  merely  replied,  with  evident  gratitude  for 
his  kindly  intentions: 

"Thank  you,  I  've  got  money  enough  to  last 
for  the  present,  and  if  I  keep  my  health  I  guess 
I  shall  manage  to  scratch  along.  I  'm  just  as 
much  obliged  to  you,  though," 

[78] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 


The  more  Alvan  considered  this  theory  of 
the  origin  of  the  fire  the  more  hopeful  did  he 
become  that  his  evidence — the  outgrowth  of 
what  he  had  seen  reflected  from  Blitzen's  big 
plate  of  glass — somewhat  shadowy  though  it 
might  be,  would  suffice  to  implicate  Naylor 
and  clear  Wallace.  Insurance  companies  are 
naturally  suspicious ;  they  must  be  so  for  their 
own  interests  as  a  protection  against  fraud. 
In  case  Wallace  was  proved  to  be  the  incendi 
ary  they  would  have  to  pay  the  loss,  whereas 
if  it  could  be  shown  that  Naylor  was  respon 
sible  for  the  burning  of  the  store  the  company 
would  be  released  from  any  payment  what 
ever.  It  therefore  would  be  strongly  for  their 
interest  to  fix  the  blame  upon  Naylor. 

As  this  view  of  the  case  presented  itself 
Alvan's  hopes  mounted  high;  then  suddenly 
two  considerations  forced  themselves  upon 
him  and  brought  a  look  of  dismay  to  his  coun 
tenance.  One  of  these  was  that  he  had  read 
somewhere  that  the  witnessing  of  an  act  by 
[79] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

reflection  in  a  mirror  could  not  be  taken  as 
evidence  in  a  court  of  justice.  The  other  was 
that  his  oath  to  Blitzen  would  forbid  his  mak 
ing  any  mention  whatever  of  the  piece  of  plate 
glass  which  played  so  indispensable  a  part  in 
what  he  had  seen. 


1*1 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 


CHAPTER  IV 

ALVAN'S  APPEAL  TO  THE  WIZARD 

ON  the  evening  after  Alvan's  visit  to 
the  city  jail  something  happened  that 
gave  him  several  very  uncomfortable 
moments.     It   came   about   through 
his  allowing  his  mind  to  dwell  too  persistently 
upon    Wallace    Hines    and    his    unfortunate 
situation,  to  the  neglect  of  his  immediate  and 
important  duties. 

Among  the  feats  performed  by  Blitzen 
nightly  with  great  success,  was  one  called  the 
Magic  Decanter.  It  may  be  described  thus: 
The  conjurer  filled  an  ordinary  glass  tumbler 
with  wine,  and  a  second  one  with  water;  then 
he  poured  the  contents  of  both  into  a  decanter 
which  he  placed  upon  a  small  metallic-topped 
stand.  After  putting  an  empty  glass  on  each 
[81] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

of  two  other  stands,  one  on  either  side  of  the 
first,  he  concealed  all  three  of  the  receptacles 
beneath  similar  tall  extinguisher-shaped  cov 
ers,  and  announced  that  he  would  cause  the 
mixed  wine  and  water  to  separate  and  pass 
into  the  empty  glasses,  the  spectators  being 
allowed  to  choose  which  glass  each  liquid 
should  presently  appear  in.  The  selection 
having  been  duly  made,  he  fastened  a  narrow 
ribbon  to  the  centre  cone  and  stretched  it 
thence  to  the  tips  of  each  of  the  side  ones. 
This  was  done,  he  explained,  to  facilitate  the 
passage  of  the  two  liquids  by  capillary  attrac 
tion.  Half  a  dozen  mysterious  passes  were 
next  made  with  the  necromancer's  wand,  and 
finally  the  three  covers  were  lifted,  when,  lo! 
the  decanter,  which  had  been  filled  with  a  mix 
ture  of  wine  and  water,  was  seen  to  be  empty, 
while  the  glasses,  empty  before,  now  con 
tained  the  one  wine,  the  other  water,  as  the 
spectators  were  invited  to  prove  to  their  own 
satisfaction  by  drinking  of  them. 

[82] 


Hf  IT  ZEN  THE  CONJURER 

The  secret  of  this  rather  mystifying  trick 
was  this :  In  the  under  side  of  the  decanter  was 
a  small  hole  stopped  with  wax  that  could  be 
removed  when  the  decanter  was  put  upon  the 
stand  (at  the  moment  before  it  was  covered 
from  view),  thus  allowing  the  contents  to  run 
down  into  the  stand,  which  was  made  hollow, 
with  several  holes  in  the  top  to  receive  the 
liquid.  Furthermore,  each  of  the  cones  placed 
over  the  empty  glasses  enclosed  in  its  upper 
part  two  reservoirs,  one  of  which  was  filled 
with  wine,  and  the  other  with  water.  At  the 
bottom  of  each  of  these  receptacles  was  a 
small  hole;  at  the  top,  on  the  surface  of  the 
cone,  was  another.  The  last  mentioned  were 
plugged  with  sealing-wax,  red  in  color  for  the 
chamber  which  held  wine,  and  green  for  the 
one  holding  water.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to 
add  that  the  spectators  were  not  allowed  to  see 
these  plugs,  much  less  to  suspect  their  exist 
ence  or  that  of  the  secret  reservoirs.  Accord 
ing  to  the  choice  signified  from  the  audience, 

6—Blitccn    the    Conjurer        *      •" 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

one  of  the  wax  stoppers  was  secretly  removed 
from  each  cone  the  instant  after  it  was  placed 
over  the  glass.  This  allowed  the  air  to  enter 
at  the  top,  and  the  liquid  to  run  out  at  the 
bottom  into  the  tumblers  beneath;  into  one 
wine,  into  the  other  water. 

It  was  Alvan's  duty  before  each  perform 
ance  to  see  that  these  four  little  receptacles 
were  properly  filled  and  plugged.  Heretofore 
he  had  attended  to  the  duty  with  the  most 
scrupulous  exactness,  but  on  this  particular 
evening  it  turned  out  that  he  had  been  sadly 
remiss.  The  Magic  Decanter  trick  did  not  go 
off  with  anything  like  its  accustomed  smooth 
ness,  for  when  the  wizard  came  to  lift  the 
covers  for  the  grand  triumphant  finish  both 
glasses  were  found  to  contain  wine.  His 
young  assistant  had  transposed  the  plugs  in 
one  of  the  cones,  and  had  stopped  the  wine 
receptacle  with  green  wax  in  place  of  red. 

From  his  position  in  the  wings  Alvan 
observed  the  fatal  result  of  his  bungling.  He 

[84] 


"  Alvan  observed  the  fatal  result 


n  LIT  ZEN  THE  CONJURER 

gave  a  gasp  of,  dismay  and  his  knees  fairly 
shook  under  him.  If  the  fate  of  a  battle  had 
turned  upon  his  negligence  he  could  hardly 
have  been  more  upset.  Any  hitch  whatever  in 
the  performance,  though  from  no  fault  of  his 
own,  would  have  made  him  nervous  and  filled 
him  with  anxiety,  so  closely  allied  had  his 
personal  interests  become  with  those  of  his 
kind  employer;  but  a  hitch  that  threatened 
dire  disaster,  and  which  was  due  entirely  to  his 
blunder — that  was  almost  enough  to  over 
come  him  entirely.  In  his  guilty  consterna 
tion  he  longed  to  have  the  floor  open  and 
swallow  him  from  sight,  but,  although  there 
were  many  traps  in  the  stage,  none  of  them 
seemed  inclined  to  go  out  of  its  way  to  per 
form  for  him  this  friendly  service. 

However,  Blitzen  was  far  too  experienced 
and  accomplished  a  master  of  his  art  to  allow 
himself  to  be  disconcerted  by  the  unforeseen 
ending  of  his  "little  experiment."  For  one 
agonizing  moment  Alvan  thought  he  was  non- 
[87] 


BLITZ  EN  THE  CONJURER 

plused,  but  he  need  not  have  feared.  No 
doubt  the  resourcefulness  of  the  wizard  had 
been  similarly  tried  in  the  past,  and  it  would  be 
safe  to  say  it  had  seldom  been  found  at  fault. 
Assuming  an  exaggerated  expression  of  sur 
prise,  accompanied  by  a  melodramatic  start, 
he  exclaimed : 

"Dear  me!  dear  me!  this  is  truly  remark 
able.  Such  a  state  of  affairs  I  am  quite  at  a 
loss  to  explain.  Allow  me  to  think  a  moment." 
He  tapped  his  forehead  and  wrinkled  his  brow 
as  if  in  deep  cogitation.  "Ah !  I  have  it,  I  see 
it  all,"  he  cried.  "This  unexpected  appearance 
of  so  much  wine  in  your  good  prohibition  town 
has  been  caused  by  that  fire  which  lately 
occurred  next  door." 

This  he  said  with  well-acted  satisfaction  at 
having  explained  everything  perfectly.  Then, 
as  if  aware  of  an  appearance  of  perplexity  on 
the  faces  of  some  of  his  audience,  he  con 
tinued  : 

"You  look  incredulous.     You  don't  agree 

[88] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

with  me.  Listen.  This  fire  of  last  Monday 
night  developed  quite  naturally  a  vast  amount 
of  heat.  I  am  sure  if  it  had  occurred  a  few 
hours  earlier  while  you  were  assembled  here, 
you  would  have  admitted  that  even  this  thea 
tre,  though  not  on  fire  itself,  was  too  warm  a 
place  to  remain  in.  Very  well.  You  all  know 
that  heat  can  be  changed  into  electricity,  and 
conversely,  that  electricity  can  be  transformed 
into  heat.  You  don't  see  the  connection  with 
the  case  in  hand?  Wait.  By  the  high  degree 
of  heat  generated  among  them,  the  ruins  next 
door  have  become  an  immense  storage  battery 
from  which  a  current  of  electric  fluid  has  begun 
to  flow  in  our  direction.  This  current  has  been 
attracted  by  the  metallic  stand,  or  perhaps 
being  a  thirsty,  devouring  sort  of  current,  the 
wine  was  the  main  attraction.  But  it  could 
not  get  into  the  decanter  through  the  glass  on 
account  of  the  latter's  well-known  insulating 
properties.  Being  apparently  determined  to 
gain  access  to  the  wine,  what  does  this  sly, 

[89] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

insidious  current  of  electricity  do  but  change 
itself  back  into  heat,  after  which,  as  glass  is 
an  excellent  conductor  of  heat,  it  was  enabled 
to  penetrate  the  glass  without  the  least  oppo 
sition.  Now  heat,  as  you  know,  has  the  effect 
of  swelling  whatever  matter  it  enters  into, 
whether  solid,  liquid  or  gaseous.  The  con 
tents  of  the  decanter,  therefore,  was  increased 
in  bulk.  The  wine,  being  the  lighter  of  the 
two  liquids,  rose  to  the  top  and  took  the  first 
opportunity  of  passing  off.  Suppose  we  now 
empty  our  tumblers,  replace  and  recover  them, 
and  repeat  our  former  incantations.  There, 
you  see,"  triumphantly  concluded  the  per 
former,  having  suited  his  actions  to  his  words, 
"we  now  have  the  glasses  both  filled  with 
water." 

The  foregoing  "patter,"  which,  of  course, 
was  the  veriest  nonsense,  was  delivered  so 
glibly  in  the  conjurer's  sprightly  and  inimit 
able  style  that  the  threatened  failure  was 
turned  into  a  brilliant  success.  Those  who 

[90] 


ULITZEX  Till]  COXJURER 

had  seen  the  trick  before  supposed  that  a 
variation  had  been  purposely  added,  and  those 
who  beheld  it  for  the  first  time  did  not  dream 
that  any  change  had  been  made  from  the 
advertised  program. 

After  being  bathed  in  a  cold  sweat  of  appre 
hension,  Alvan  at  length  drew  a  long  breath  of 
relief,  though  he  still  felt  far  from  wholly 
comfortable  in  mind.  He  knew  that  he 
deserved  severest  reproof  and  even  summary 
dismissal. 

At  the  close  of  the  performance  he  fully 
expected  to  be  sent  for,  but  no  summons 
came,  and  on  inquiry  he  learned  that  shortly 
after  the  final  fall  of  the  curtain  the  wizard  had 
received  a  telegram  which  had  caused  him  to 
leave  the  theatre  in  some  haste. 

Next  morning,  as  early  as  he  could  venture 
to  do  so,  he  sought  out  his  employer  at  his 
rooms  at  the  hotel.  When  he  entered,  Blitzen 
was  walking  the  floor,  looking  as  haggard  and 
worn  as  if  he  had  not  slept  at  all  during  the 

[01] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

night.  The  boy  knew  that  he  sometimes  got 
rather  fatigued  under  the  strain  of  his  even 
ing's  labors  before  the  public,  and  he  sus 
pected  that  he  also  had  some  other  worriment 
upon  his  mind.  Therefore  his  conscience 
smote  him  afresh  at  the  thought  that  he  should 
have  done  anything  to  add  to  these  troubles. 

"Well,  Alvan,"  the  conjurer  said  interro 
gatively,  as  his  caller  stepped  hesitatingly 
forward. 

"I  have  come  about  what — about  the  mis 
take  I  made,  sir,"  the  culprit  began  falteringly. 

"Ah !  oh,  yes,"  returned  the  wizard,  quite  as 
if  he  were  recalling  something  that  had  hap 
pened  a  long  time  ago.  "You  were  thinking 
of  other  things  when  you  loaded  those  reser 
voirs,  were  n't  you?"  he  queried  mildly. 

"Ye — yes,  sir,"  said  the  boy,  hanging  his 
head.  "I  hope — I  am  very  sorry,  sir,"  he 
stammered  contritely. 

"Well,  in  future  be  careful  and  keep  your 
mind  on  your  work,  or  you  might  cause  me 

[92] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 


serious  embarrassment  one  of  these  days," 
cautioned  the  magician,  and  there  the  inter 
view  seemed  about  to  end. 

But  Alvan's  conscience  protested  against 
his  being  let  off  thus  easily.  Instead  of  slip 
ping  away  the  first  moment  he  had  the  chance, 


"  '  When  you  loaded  those  reservoirs  '  " 

he  stood  shifting  his  weight  uneasily  from  one 
foot  to  the  other  for  a  space,  then,  with  a  very 
red  face,  blurted  out: 

"Mr.  Blitzen,  I — I  think  you  ought  to — to 
scold  me.  I  'm  sure  I  deserve  it.  I — my  care 
lessness  was  inexcusable." 

The  conjurer's  features  were  touched  by  the 

[93] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 


faint  shadow  of  a  smile.  "I  hardly  know  how 
to  scold,  my  boy,"  he  returned.  "Was  any 
thing  in  particular  troubling  you  that  made 
you  so  absentminded?"  he  asked,  after  eyeing 
his  young  assistant  curiously  for  a  moment. 

Alvan  did  not  answer  at  once,  but  after  a 
short  silence,  thinking  it  best  to  be  frank,  he 
exclaimed:  "Yes,  sir,  there  was,  there  is 
something  that  I  can't  keep  out  of  my 
thoughts.  It  has  worried  me  a  good  deal." 

"Do  you  want  to  tell  me  what  it  is?  Can  I 
help  you  in  any  way?"  the  conjurer  queried 
kindly. 

"Thank  you,  sir,"  was  the  grateful  answer; 
"if  you  could  spend  time  to  listen  I  should 
like  very  much  to  ask  your  advice." 

"Certainly.    Pray  go  on." 

"Last  evening  when — when  that  mistake 
happened,  you  spoke  of  the  fire  in  the  building 
across  the  alley."  Thus  clumsily  did  Alvan 
broach  the  topic  that  was  weighing  on  his 
mind. 

[94] 


BLITZEN  THE  COXJURER 


"True;  I  improvised  several  paragraphs  of 
nonsense  on  the  spur  of  the  moment,  though 
now  I  really  can't  recall  just  what  it  was." 

"You  said  that  heat  could  be  changed  into 
electricity,  and  vice  versa." 

"Ah!  did  I?  Then  there  was  a  glimmer  of 
reason  in  that  rigmarole.  Well,  what  are  you 
leading  up  to,  my  boy?" 

"I  want  first,"  continued  Alvan,  gathering 
courage,  "to  ask  if  fires  are  not  sometimes 
caused  by  defective  wiring — I  mean  by  the 
electric  light  wires  being  too  near  together 
and  improperly  insulated?" 

"So  it  is  said.  Have  you  any  reason  to  sup 
pose  that  the  fire  in  question  originated  from 
a  defect  in  wiring?" 

Instead  of  giving  a  direct  answer,  Alvan 
related  briefly  his  experience  of  Monday  fore 
noon  when  the  big  glass  plate  hanging  in  the 
flies  of  the  theatre  acted  as  a  mirror  and 
showed  him  what  was  taking  place  in  the  little 
second-story  room  of  the  crockery  store. 

[05] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

"The  man  I  saw  there,"  he  concluded,  men 
tioning  the  name  with  some  reluctance,  "was 
Mr.  James  Naylor." 

Blitzen  had  been  listening  to  the  recital  with 
attention  evidently  not  more  than  half  fixed 
upon  it ;  now  his  manner  suddenly  changed. 

"Why  did  n't  you  speak  of  this  before?"  he 
demanded,  almost  sharply. 

Alvan  named  the  two  principal  reasons  that 
had  prevented  his  doing  so,  adding:  "Then, 
too,  I  was  n't  wholly  sure,  and  I  thought  I 
ought  to  be  careful  what  I  said,  in  case  I  had 
made  a  mistake,  or— 

"I  hardly  think  you  need  have  any  doubts 
on  that  score,"  interposed  the  conjurer,  smil 
ing  rather  bitterly.  "That  man  Naylor  is  equal 
to  any  villainy,  I  fear.  He  appears  to  have 
planned  this  particular  one  cunningly  enough 
to  have  avoided  discovery  had  it  not  been  for 
the  lucky  chance  that  brought  his  operations 
within  the  field  of  your  vision.  He  failed  to 
count  upon  my  magic  art,"  he  concluded 
grimly.  "It  really  seems  like  poetical  justice." 

[96] 


44  '  Why  did  n't  you  speak  of  this  before  ? 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Alvan,  though  not  knowing 
what  he  was  assenting  to. 

"The  idea  that  such  evidence  as  yours  would 
not  be  admitted  in  a  court  of  law  is  a  popular 
error,"  Blitzen  went  on,  after  a  brief  silence. 
"It  would  be  perfectly  valid  as  far  as  it  goes, 
though  perhaps  we  shall  not  need  to  use  it  in 
quite  the  way  you  had  thought  of.  At  any 
rate  that  poor  boy  must  be  saved,  whatever  it 
costs.  Surely  you  did  not  think  I  would 
hesitate." 

"N — no,  sir,"  Alvan  faltered,  reddening  at 
the  idea  that  he  should  have  had  any  doubts 
of  his  patron's  thorough  kind-heartedness. 

"It  so  happens  that,  aside  from  other  con 
siderations,  there  are  certain  reasons  why  I 
should  not  be  unwilling  to  press  this  matter 
against  Naylor.  Last  night  I  got  word  of  the 
death  of  my  only  son." 

"Oh !"  exclaimed  Alvan,  with  a  sympathy  of 
tone  that  made  up  for  the  lack  of  words. 

"It  was  not  unexpected,"  continued  Blitzen, 

7  — Blitzen   the   Conjurer      [99] 


BLITZ  EN  THE  CONJURER 


"and,  though  it  seems  pitiable  to  say,  the 
news,  in  one  way,  was  a  relief.  Partly  in  con 
sequence  of  certain  disgraceful  occurrences  he 
became  a  victim  of  the  drink  habit,  and  for 
some  years  past  lived  in  a  private  retreat, 
scarcely  more  than  the  wreck  of  a  man.  While 
still  a  youth  he  fell  under  the  influence  of 
James  Naylor,  who  taught  him  to  drink  and 
gamble,  and  who  was  really  the  direct  cause 
of  his  becoming  a  defaulter." 

"I  am  sorry  to  hear  this,  sir,"  said  Alvan, 
breaking  a  somewhat  uncomfortable  silence. 

Blitzen  heaved  a  sigh.  "The  poor  boy's 
troubles  are  over  now,  and  we  must  see 
what  can  be  done  to  extricate  this  other 
lad  from  his  difficulties.  You  can  safely  leave 
the  matter  in  my  hands,  Alvan.  Although  I 
can  not  decide  at  this  moment  how  it  will  be 
best  to  act,  I  shall  keep  it  well  in  mind  and 
you  may  depend  upon  me  to  see  that  your 
friend  is  set  right  very  soon  at  whatever  cost." 


[100] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 


CHAPTER  V 

THE   REAL  INCENDIARY 

AT  the  last  moment  one  of  the  ushers 
who  did  duty  on  the  orchestra  floor 
of  the  Opera  House  sent  word  that 
he  would  be  unable  to  come.  The 
house  was  sold  from  bottom  to  top,  and  dur 
ing  the  busy  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  just  before 
the  rise  of  the  curtain  there  would  be 
more  than  enough  work  for  the  entire 
force.  To  meet  the  emergency  Alvan  was 
pressed  into  service.  The  system  of  num 
bering  the  seats  was  simple  and  he  was 
not  wholly  unused  to  ushering,  and  as  he 
could  be  well  enough  spared  from  his  duties 
"behind"  at  that  particular  time,  he  was  rather 
glad  than  otherwise  of  the  novelty  of  a  little 
change. 

[101] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

With  one  of  the  regular  ushers  he  had 
charge  of  the  right-hand  main  aisle,  and  from 
seven-forty-five  until  nearly  eight  o'clock  he 
was  perhaps  more  active  than  he  ever  had 
been  before  in  his  life,  rushing  back  and  forth, 
slamming  down  seats,  directing  check-holders 
to  their  places,  and  hurrying  up  the  aisle  to 
meet  and  attend  to  those  who  were  following 
close  at  each  other's  heels  almost  ceaselessly. 
Despite  his  inexperience  he  had  been  getting 
on  very  well  and  was  beginning  to  be  a  little 
proud  of  his  efficiency  when,  near  the  end  of 
the  rush,  he  became  involved  in  a  most 
unpleasant  episode. 

On  one  of  his  returns  to  the  head  of  the 
aisle  he  found  awaiting  him  two  ladies,  one 
of  whom  he  recognized  as  Miss  Farley,  form 
erly  Mr.  Jewett's  bookkeeper. 

"These  seats  are  in  the  second  row,  Alvan," 
she  said,  after  they  had  exchanged  hurried 
greetings.  "My  mother  is  somewhat  hard  of 
hearing  and  so  I  took  care  to  get  them  pretty 
far  front." 

[102] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

The  checks  she  handed  him  were  "Bis"  and 
"Biy"  in  the  centre  of  the  orchestra,  and  called 
for  the  fourth  and  fifth  seats  from  the  end. 
As  he  preceded  the  ladies  down  the  aisle 
Alvan  glanced  at  row  B  and,  to  his  surprise, 
saw  that  but  one  seat  in  it,  the  fifth,  was 
vacant.  Evidently  some  one  had  taken  a 
wrong  place.  Alvan  was  anticipating  no 
trouble,  however,  in  getting  the  error  cor 
rected  until,  on  reaching  the  end  of  the  row, 
he  glanced  along  and  discovered  that  the  occu 
pant  of  the  fourth  seat  was  James  Naylor. 
Then  there  dawned  upon  him  the  fear  that  an 
unpleasant  scene  might  ensue.  With  some 
inward  tremor,  though  with  outward  calm,  he 
leaned  forward  in  front  of  the  holder  of  the 
end  seat  and  addressed  Naylor  with  the  for 
mula  usual  on  such  occasions : 

"Please  let  me  see  your  check,  sir." 
Naylor  turned  upon  him  scowlingly.   "Hey! 
whose?  mine?     What  do  you  want  to  see  it 
for?"   he   demanded.      His   face   was   unduly 

[103] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

flushed,  probably  with  drinking,  and  he 
seemed  in  no  very  amiable  mood. 

"Because  I  think  you  're  in  the  wrong  seat," 
Alvan  returned  pleasantly. 

"Humph!  think  again,  sonny.  I  guess  I  'm 
all  right.  I  'm  where  you  put  me  anyhow." 

Alvan  knew  that  he  had  not  seated  Naylor, 
else  he  would  surely  have  remembered  it. 
Evidently,  then,  the  other  usher  had  done  so, 
and,  whether  by  his  own  blunder  or  Naylor's 
misunderstanding,  had  got  him  into  the  wrong 
place.  But  of  course  that  was  not  a  matter  to 
be  argued  over  now. 

"If  I  did,"  Alvan  said,  not  attempting  to 
exculpate  himself,  "I  made  a  mistake  which 
I  hope  you  will  excuse.  If  you  will  be  so  kind 
as  to  show  me  your  check  I  will  have  things 
righted  in  a  minute." 

"I  showed  it  once  and  that  ought  to  be 
enough,"  returned  Naylor  gruffly.  "I  was  told 
to  sit  here,  and  here  I'm  going  to  sit,  see !" 

The  attention  of  everybody  around  the  spot 

[104] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 


was  called  to  this  altercation  by  now,  and 
Alvan  felt  his  position  to  be  most  annoying. 
His  face  was  getting  red  and  his  patience 
sorely  tried.  Meanwhile  Miss  Farley  was 
hardly  less  uncomfortable  than  he. 

"Don't  have  any  more  words  with  that 
man,"  she  whispered,  plucking  at  Alvan's 
sleeve,  but  the  boy's  blood  was  up  and  he 
grimly  resolved  not  to  be  beaten. 

"There  has  been  a  mistake  somewhere,"  he 
said,  "for  these  ladies  hold  the  checks  for  your 
seat  and  the  next  one.  Unless  you  wish  to  put 
them  to  great  inconvenience  you  will  allow  me 
to  see  your  check." 

"I  don't  know  where  I  put  the  thing," 
grumbled  Naylor,  beginning  to  feel  in  his 
pockets ;  then,  glancing  toward  the  two  ladies, 
his  eye  fell  on  the  younger  one  and  his  manner 
changed  abruptly. 

"Oh,  good  evening,  Miss  Farley,"  he  said 
loud  enough  for  everybody  in  the  vicinity  to 
hear,  and  attempting  a  smile  that  proved  to 


BLITZ  EN  THE  CONJURER 

be  half  smirk  and  half  leer.  "Of  course  you 
can  have  my  seat — this  seat — of  course  you 
can.  I  'm  mighty  sorry  the  stupidity  of  these 
fellows  should  have  given  you  so  much  trouble. 
Here  's  the  check,  young  man." 

He  stepped  out  into  the  aisle,  disdainfully 
handing  Alvan  the  check — which  proved  to 
be  "Dis" — and  Miss  Farley  and  her  mother, 
the  former  with  an  uncomfortably  crimson 
face,  passed  in  and  sat  down. 

After  returning  to  his  duties  on  the  stage 
Alvan  mentioned  what  had  taken  place, 
although  at  the  moment  Blitzen  seemed  to  pay 
little  heed  to  his  narration. 

Blitzen's  exhibition  was  divided  into  four 
parts.  The  first  consisted  of  card  tricks  and 
other  feats  of  legerdemain  of  the  simpler  sort ; 
the  second  of  more  elaborate  "experiments" 
requiring  apparatus ;  the  third  of  a  mind-read 
ing  seance ;  and  the  fourth  of  the  optical  illu 
sion  with  the  sheet  of  plate  glass.  At  the 
close  of  part  first  Alvan  received  a  summons  to 

[106] 


BLITZ  EN  THE  CONJURER 

wait  on  his  employer.  He  found  him  in  the 
green-room  pacing  the  floor  with  nervous, 
hurried  steps. 

"I  've  but  a  moment  to  spare,"  he  began, 
when  his  youthful  assistant  came  in,  "and  I 
wish  you  to  listen  attentively  to  what  I  say. 
Fortune  has  favored  us  unexpectedly.  You 
tell  me  that  James  Naylor  is  in  the  theatre, 
near  the  front  of  the  orchestra.  Well,  I  am 
planning  a  little  comedy  for  his  benefit  that  I 
think  may  surprise  him,  and  I  have  taken 
precautions  that  he  shall  not  leave  us  before 
we  are  done  with  him.  I  wish  you  to  go  imme 
diately  and  give  Eliza  an  account  of  what  you 
saw  last  Monday  forenoon  in  the  glass. 
Describe  it  as  accurately  and  minutely  as  pos 
sible  ;  then  leave  the  rest  to  me." 

Eliza  was  Gustavus's  wife  and  a  remarkably 
clever,  quick-witted  young  woman.  She  was 
described  in  the  bills  as  "Mademoiselle  Elise," 
and  she  took  an  important  part  in  the  mind- 
reading  exhibition.  After  being  blindfolded 
[107] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

and  seated  in  an  isolated  position  on  the  stage, 
she  reads  the  numbers  of  bank-notes, 
described  objects  borrowed  among  the  audi 
ence  and  held  up  by  Blitzen  so  that  every 
body  but  she  could  see  them,  added  long  col 
umns  of  figures  placed  upon  a  blackboard 
behind  her,  performed  elaborate  multiplica 
tions,  squared  and  cubed  high  numbers  in  an 
incredibly  short  space  of  time,  and  did  various 
other  equally  wonderful  things. 

Of  course  there  was  a  good  deal  of  decep 
tion  involved  in  all  this,  and,  the  better  to 
guard  against  discovery,  Blitzen  was  in  the 
habit  of  varying  his  methods  from  time  to 
time.  One  of  them,  not  the  least  ingenious, 
was  this:  Snugly  hidden  beneath  her  gar 
ments,  Mile.  Elise  wore  a  small  speaking- 
tube.  The  upper  end  of  it,  which  came  out  at 
the  back  of  her  neck  and  thus  reached  her  ear, 
was  covered  by  her  hair,  worn  low  for  the 
purpose ;  the  lower  end  emerged  from  the  hem 
of  her  skirt  and  was  concealed  by  a  bouquet 

[108] 


RLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

of  flowers  hanging  from  a  long  cord  at  her 
waist.  Under  pretence  of  readjusting  this 
bouquet  after  she  was  seated,  Blitzen  slyly 
connected  the  tube  with  another  which  ran 
along  beneath  the  stage  and  terminated  in 
a  mouthpiece  at  the  wings.  During  the 
seance  Gustavus  stood  at  the  mouthpiece  with 
the  powerful  opera-glasses  formerly  referred 
to  ready  to  his  hand.  By  looking  through  the 
glasses  he  was  enabled  to  read  the  numbers  on 
the  bank-notes,  and  distinguish  the  exact 
nature  of  the  small  articles  borrowed  by  Blit 
zen  from  the  spectators.  Mathematical  tables 
furnished  him  the  means  of  solving  at  short 
notice  the  problems  set  for  Elise;  and  the 
information  thus  acquired  he  could  communi 
cate  to  her  through  the  speaking-tube.  So 
that  what  appeared  to  the  audience  as  being 
nothing  short  of  marvellous  was  really  very 
simple  after  all. 

With  no  clear  idea  of  what  was  to  result 
from  it,  Alvan  described  to  Eliza  the  scene 

[109] 


BLITZ  EN  THE  CONJURER 

he  had  been  witness  of,  and  in  which  James 
Naylor  had  cut  so  prominent  a  figure.  Then 
he  returned  to  his  usual  duties. 

In  due  time  the  curtain  rose  on  part  third  of 
the  program.  Filled  with  a  lively  interest, 
Alvan  followed  intently  the  familiar  mind- 
reading  trickery,  expecting  that  at  any 
moment  some  startling  variation  might  be 
introduced.  For  some  time  he  was  disap 
pointed.  It  was  not  until  the  end  of  the 
seance  as  usually  given  that  Blitzen  came  for 
ward  and  addressed  the  audience  as  follows: 

"Ladies  and  gentlemen,  most  of  you  know 
that  a  certain  class  of  persons,  advertising  in 
the  newspapers  and  elsewhere  as  clairvoy 
ants,  pretend  to  have  supernatural  powers  by 
which  they  are  enabled  to  discover  the  where 
abouts  of  lost  or  stolen  property,  penetrate 
hidden  mysteries,  and  perform  other  astonish 
ing  feats  of  a  like  nature.  Up  to  the  present 
Mile.  Elise  has  not  attempted  anything  of  this 
sort  in  public,  but  we  have  been  so  far  encour- 

[110] 


RLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

aged  by  private  trials  that  she  will  now 
endeavor  to  give  you  a  small  exhibition  of  her 
capabilities.  Though  we  cannot  guarantee 
entire  success,  we  hope  to  be  able  to  interest 
you,  or  some  of  you,  in  the  revelations  she 
will  essay  to  make.  First,  allow  me  to  throw 
her  into  a  trance."  \ 

He  executed  a  series  of  passes  here,  and 
under  their  supposed  influence  the  young 
woman  became  rigid  and  seemingly  uncon 
scious. 

"Now,"  the  conjurer  proceeded,  "will 
somebody  among  the  audience  kindly  sug 
gest  some  test — something  that  will  be  of 
general  interest?" 

After  a  short  interval  a  man  rose  from  one 
of  the  seats  near  the  middle  of  the  orchestra. 
Like  most  magicians,  Blitzen  occasionally 
used  confederates,  and  Alvan  recognized  in 
this  person  one  of  them. 

"I  should  like  to  ask  the  lady  a  question 
that  I  think  would  be  of  interest  to  all  pres- 
[iii] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

ent,"  he  said,  with  pretended  diffidence.  "I 
am  inclined  to  think  that  every  one  here 
would  be  glad  to  learn  exactly  what  was  the 
cause  of  that  fire  which  the  boy  Hines  is 
charged  with  having  set  last  Monday  night." 

There  was  a  general  stir  at  this,  and  Alvan, 
turning  a  watchful  eye  toward  the  occupant 
of  "Di5,"  prepared  to  listen  with  all  his  might 
to  what  was  to  come.  The  magician,  how 
ever,  put  on  a  dubious  look,  as  he  said  slowly, 
and  as  if  reluctantly: 

"Y— e— s.  The  test  is  a  little  severe,  still 
we  can  do  no  worse  than  fail.  We  will  make 
the  trial."  Then,  addressing  the  apparently 
unconscious  girl,  he  went  on,  with  appropriate 
gestures,  "Mademoiselle,  with  the  aid  of  the 
power  by  which  right  subdues  wrong,  by 
which  good  prevails  against  evil,  by  which 
truth  triumphs  over  falsehood,  I  adjure  you  to 
search  into  the  dark  mysteries  of  the  past  and 
tell  us  how  the  fire  in  the  building  that  lately 
stood  next  door  originated." 

[112] 


BLITZ  EN  THE  CONJURER 

There  ensued  a  breathless  pause,  during 
which  the  attention  of  the  whole  house  was 
centred  upon  Eliza,  as  she  wrinkled  her 
brows  in  a  pretence  of  the  most  intense  and 
painful  mental  effort. 

"What  you  require  of  me  is  very  difficult," 
she  said  at  last  in  an  unnatural,  hollow- 


Try,  try!'  he  commanded 


sounding  voice.     "All  is  obscure.     I  can  not 


see." 


"Try,  try!"  he  commanded. 

She  drew  a  long  breath  and  finally  resumed 
hesitatingly,  like  a  person  who  is  not  at  all 
sure  of  himself:  "I  see — I  see  a  room,  a  small 
room,  lighted  by  one  window.  It  is  in  the 

[113] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

third — no,  the  second  story  of  a — is  it  a  fac 
tory? — no,  it  is  a  sort  of  store,  I  can't  tell 
exactly  what.  There  is  much  litter  about  the 
room.  There  are  barrels  and  boxes,  hay  and 
straw,  shavings  and — and  a  great  deal  of 
inflammable  material  scattered  all  about.  I  see 
wires  upon  the  wall,  two  running  parallel  to 
each  other  from  the  ceiling  to  the  floor.  They 
come  in  from  the  street.  They  are  telephone 
— no,  electric  lighting  wires." 

"What  time  of  day  is  it?"  the  conjurer 
asked  when  she  paused. 

"The  sun  is  high.  It  is  forenoon,  between 
eleven  and  twelve.  It  is — Ah!  what  is  this? 
The  door  is  opening.  A  man  enters  the  room, 
stealthily  and  as  if  he  had  no  right  to  be  there. 
He  is  listening.  All  is  still.  He  puts  his  hand 
in  his  pocket  and  takes  out — takes  out  a — a 
large  jackknife." 

"Yes,  yes,  continue,"  urged  Blitzen,  pre 
tending  impatience  when  she  stopped.  "What 
is  the  man  doing  now?" 

[114] 


BLITZEN  THE  COXJl'RKR 

"Wait !  I  can  not  quite  make  out.  Ah !  now 
I  see  more  clearly.  He  is  busy  at  the  wall 
with  the  electric  wires.  Is  he  trying  to  cut 
them?  No;  he  is  scraping  off  the  coating 
that  insulates  them.  He  pauses  suddenly, 
guiltily,  and  comes  to  the  window,  which  is 
open.  He  looks  out,  then  quickly  closes  the 
window  and  returns  to  his  work  upon  the 
wires,  for  he  thinks  he  is  unobserved.  He  has 
scraped  a  section  of  each  wire  entirely  bare, 
and  is  bending  the  two  so  that  they  will  nearly 
touch  each  other  at  one  point." 

As  she  ceased  speaking  again  there  was  a 
profound  stillness  in  the  house.  No  one 
moved  or  took  his  eyes  for  an  instant  off  the 
girl,  so  interested  were  all  in  her  curious  dis 
closures.  That  is  to  say  no  one  moved  except 
the  man  seated  in  "Di5,  orchestra  centre." 
Alvan  had  so  stationed  himself  that  he  could 
keep  his  eye  on  James  Naylor,  and  he  noticed 
that  he  had  been  fidgeting  nervously  from 
time  to  time,  and  twice  or  thrice  had  made  a 

B—Blitsen   the   Conjurer      [115J 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

movement  as  if  to  rise  and  go  out,  but,  seem 
ing  to  change  his  mind,  had  remained  where 
he  was,  keeping  as  still  and  "small"  as  possi 
ble  in  his  doubtless  excited  and  apprehensive 
condition.  He  could  not  repress  a  start  when 
the  wizard  put  the  next  query. 

"Can  you  describe  this  man?" 

"I  will  try,"  answered  Eliza.  "He  is  neither 
very  tall  nor  very  short.  He  is  rather  thick 
set.  He  has  reddish-brown  hair  and  a  good 
deal  of  color  in  his  face.  His  eyes  are  blue. 
He  is  wearing  a  suit  of  light  checked  goods 
and  a  necktie  of  a  brilliant  hue." 

This  description,  though  sufficiently  accu 
rate  to  have  been  recognized  by  those  in  the 
secret,  was  hardly  marked  enough  to  betray 
Naylor's  identity  to  anybody  else.  Evidently 
Blitzen  did  not  wish  to  make  a  public  expo 
sure.  But  the  man  himself  knew  well  enough 
who  was  meant,  and  in  one  respect  had  belied 
the  description.  That  is  to  say  he  had  sud 
denly  lost  all  the  florid  hue  that  was  habitual 
to  him. 

[116] 


BLITZEX  THE  CONJURER 


"Can  you  tell  me  the  man's  name?"  was 
Blitzen's  next  inquiry. 

This  question  had  not  been  expected  by 
Alvan,  and  it  had  the  effect  of  fixing  his  gaze 
more  closely  than  ever  upon  Naylor.  He  soon 
perceived  that  it  had  proved  too  much  for 
Naylor's  equanimity,  for,  with  handkerchief 
pressed  to  his  mouth,  as  if  he  had  been  taken 
suddenly  ill,  he  arose  unsteadily  and  went  up 
the  aisle  toward  the  doors. 

Meantime  the  girl  was  answering:  "I  don't 
know.  You  ask  too  much,  I  fear."  She 
wrinkled  her  brows  painfully  for  a  moment. 
"No,  I  can  get  nothing  more.  All  has  become 
a  blur.  I  am  tired,"  she  concluded,  in  fretful 
tones,  and,  after  a  few  more  remarks,  the 
wizard  brought  this  little  comedy  to  an  end. 

When    Naylor    reached    the    exit    toward 

which  he  had  been  tending  he  was  intercepted 

by  a  polite  attendant,  behind  whom  stood  two 

.policemen.      Mr.    Blitzen   would   like   to    see 

him  for  a  few  moments  in  the  green-room,  he 

[117] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

was  civilly  informed.  If  he  felt  inclined  to 
refuse  this  invitation,  or  summons,  the  sight 
of  the  two  officers,  who  looked  very  big  and 
imposing,  must  have  caused  him  to  change 
his  mind.  Without  a  word  of  protest  he  fol 
lowed  his  conductor  through  a  private 
entrance  to  the  stage,  and  thence  into  the 
green-room,  where  he  was  bidden  to  sit  down. 
He  was  too  nervous  to  do  so,  however,  and 
occupied  himself  by  walking  the  floor  for 
what  seemed  to  him  a  long  time.  Finally  the 
man  returned. 

"Mr.  Blitzen  is  before  the  public  just  at 
present,"  he  reported,  "and  I  shall  have  to  ask 
you  to  wait  a  while  yet." 

As  a  matter  of  fact  part  fourth  of  the  enter 
tainment  was  in  progress,  and  the  conjurer 
did  not  intend  to  have  his  interview  with  Nay- 
lor  until  the  final  curtain  had  been  rung  down. 
Naylor  may  or  may  not  have  suspected  this, 
but  his  anxiety  and  impatience  got  the  better 
of  his  prudence,  and  he  burst  out  angrily  with : 

[118] 


What  do  you  want  with  me  ? 


BLITZED  THE  CONJURER 

"See  here,  young  fellow,  I  can't  hang  'round 
here  all  night — " 

He  stopped  suddenly,  for  he  discovered  that 
the  pair  of  stalwart  officers  had  followed  him 
from  the  front  of  the  theatre,  and  were  stand 
ing  just  outside  the  door.  After  a  short  strug 
gle  his  prudence  resumed  its  control. 

"I  suppose  I  shall  have  to  wait  if  he  says 
so,"  he  finished  sullenly,  and  the  attendant 
left  him  to  himself. 

When  the  magician  at  last  appeared  he 
was  accompanied  by  Alvan.  He  entered  the 
green-room  with  a  stern,  serious  face,  and 
closed  the  door  carefully  after  him.  For  a 
few  minutes  the  two  men  stood  looking  at 
each  other  silently.  Then  Naylor,  losing  his 
self-control,  exclaimed : 

"Well,  what  do  you  want  with  me?" 

"My  name,  my  real  name,"  said  the  wizard, 
disregarding  his  question,  "is  Joseph  Burton. 
It  is  many  years  since  we  met,  and  I  have 
changed  a  good  deal,  but  I  think  you  will  be 

[121] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

able  to  remember  me,  and  what  you  did  for 
my  unhappy  son." 

Naylor  started,  stared,  and  became  more 
discomposed  than  ever.  Clearly  he  did 
remember. 

"I  sent  for  you  to  come  here,"  Blitzen  pro 
ceeded,  "because  I  wish  to  talk  with  you  about 
that  fire — the  burning  of  your  building  last 
Monday  night." 

"What  about  it?"  Naylor  demanded,  trying 
to  appear  calm,  but  without  much  success. 

"No  doubt,  in  the  interests  of  justice,  you 
will  be  glad  to  learn  that  the  name  of  the  real 
incendiary  is  known  to  me— 

"Humph!  so  it  is  to  me,"  Naylor  inter 
rupted  with  a  sneer.  "The  young  scamp  is  in 
jail  for  it,  and  will  get  his  sentence." 

"The  boy  is  in  jail  under  a  false  accusation, 
as  you  are  well  aware,  James  Naylor,"  declared 
Blitzen  sternly.  "You  heard  what  was  said 
from  my  stage  about  the  affair,  and  I  noticed 
that  the  description  of  what  actually  took 

[122] 


BLITZEX  THE  CONJURER 

place  in  Mr.  Jewett's  closet  on  the  day  of  the 
fire  affected  you  unpleasantly." 

"Pooh !  I  was  n't  feeling  well ;  I  was  taken 
faint,  the  air  was  so  close,"  Naylor  tried  to 
explain.  "You  don't  suppose  that  girl's  drivel 
had  anything  to  do  with  my  leaving,  I  hope?" 

"You  know  it  was  not  drivel,  but  a  true  nar 
ration  of  an  actual  occurrence;  and  I  could 
have  published  your  name  then  and  there  in 
connection  with  it,  had  I  chosen." 

"Bah!  do  you  think  that  folderol  would  be 
taken  as  evidence  before  an  intelligent  jury?" 
asked  Naylor,  attempting  a  bluff,  though  evi 
dently  growing  more  and  more  uneasy  as  the 
interview  progressed. 

"Perhaps  not,"  the  magician  returned 
coolly,  "but  fortunately  I  have  here  an  actual 
eye-witness  of  your  proceedings."  He  turned 
and  laid  his  hand  on  Alvan's  shoulder.  "This 
young  man,"  he  continued,  "who  is  in  my 
employ,  and  who  formerly  worked  for  Mr. 
Jewett,  was  on  the  stage  here  last  Monday 

[123] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

forenoon,  and  saw  you  at  work  among  the  com 
bustible  material  in  the  closet.  He  saw  you 
remove  the  insulation  from  the  wires,  and 
make  other  preparations  for  carrying  out  the 
scheme  whereby  you  hoped  the  electric  cur 
rent  would  help  to  sell  your  property  to  the 
unsuspecting  fire  insurance  company  for  cash. 
Now  don't  waste  time  by  attempting  to  deny 
it,"  he  wound  up  sharply. 

The  accused  man's  nerve  was  fast  leaving 
him.  He  realized  that  he  was  cornered  and 
at  the  wizard's  mercy. 

"Well,  what  do  you  want  me  to  do?"  he 
demanded  morosely,  after  a  brief  silence. 

"What  is  right,  nothing  more.  Withdraw 
your  charge  against  the  Hines  boy  and  get  him 
out  of  jail." 

"What!  and  get  myself  in?  I  should  like 
to  know  how  I  should  be  the  gainer  by  such  a 
proceeding  as  that?" 

"You  need  n't  get  yourself  into  jail  neces 
sarily,  although  you  deserve  to  be  there  if  man 

[124] 


BLITZ  EN  THE  CONJURER 

ever  did,"  said  the  magician  severely.  "Write 
out  and  sign  a  confession  of  your  sole  respon 
sibility  for  the  fire,  and  give  it  to  me.  That  is 
all  I  require  of  you." 

"Humph!  what  guarantee  have  I  that  you 
won't  have  me  arrested  by  those  two  fellows 
whom  you  have  seen  fit  to  station  beside  the 
door  there?"  Naylor  asked  suspiciously. 

"Only  my  word,"  was  the  cold  reply.  "Those 
men  know  nothing  about  your  doings — yet. 
It  will  depend  upon  yourself  whether  or  not 
I  make  a  charge  against  you  and  put  you  in 
their  hands.  I  think,  Mr.  Naylor,  you  will 
decide  to  trust  me." 

And,  after  a  few  moments  of  consideration, 
Naylor  thought  so,  too. 

As  the  instrument  of  poor  Wallace's  release 
Alvan  found  himself  fairly  overwhelmed  with 
thanks.  Indeed,  he  was  embarrassed  to  know 
what  to  do  with  so  much  gratitude.  Wallace 
declared  again  and  again  that  he  would  do 
[126] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

anything  in  the  world  to  repay  his  kindness, 
and  finally  Alvan  told  him  that  if  he  was  so 
eager  there  was  one  thing  he  might  do, 
namely:  go  with  him  to  Mr.  Jewett  and  tell 
the  exact  truth  about  the  breaking  of  the 
Chinese  vase.  Whereat  Wallace  proved  his 
sincerity  by  offering  to  set  out  at  once. 

Mr.  Jewett's  ill-feeling  against  Alvan  had 
evaporated  long  ago,  and  he  apologized  for 
his  misapprehension  in  the  handsomest  man 
ner.  In  fact,  he  went  a  good  way  beyond  an 
apology. 

"Alvan,  you  were  by  all  odds  the  best  boy 
I  ever  had,  or  have  had  to  this  day,"  he 
declared  warmly,  "and  I  was  very  sorry  to 
lose  you.  Now  why  can't  you  come  back  to 
me  again?  I  am  going  into  a  brand-new  store 
shortly,  in  that  fine  brick  block  just  being 
finished  opposite  the  post-office.  It  will  have 
an  elevator  and  steam  heat  and  all  the  modern 
improvements  you  can  think  of.  It  will  be 
much  easier  to  do  work  in  than  the  old  place, 

[126] 


DLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 


and  I  '11  give  you  good  wages — considerably 
better  than  you  had  before.  Beside  which 
you  shall  have  every  opportunity  possible  to 


"  Fairly  embarrassed  with  thanks  " 

rise  in  time  to  the  very  top,  if  you  Ve  got  it  in 
you,  which  I  'm  certain  you  have.  Now  is  n't 
that  an  offer  worth  considering?  Come,  what 
do  you  say?" 

[127] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 


Taken  utterly  by  surprise,  Alvan  was  not 
prepared  to  say  anything  at  the  moment,  and 
so  he  asked  for  a  short  delay  for  consideration. 
This  was  willingly  accorded,  and  he  straight 
way  reported  the  crockery  man's  proposition 
to  Blitzen,  by  whom  he  was  counseled  to 
accept  it. 

"I  am  sure  it  will  be  best  for  you  in  the 
end,"  the  magician  remarked.  "Naturally  I 
shall  regret  very  much  the  necessity  of  part 
ing  with  you,  Alvan,  but  I  wish  to  advise  you 
for  your  own  interests  solely.  Now  tell  me 
candidly,  my  dear  boy,  do  you  think  you  ever 
would  become  a  really  eminent,  first-class 
performer  if  you  were  to  keep  on  at  the  pro 
fession  for  five,  ten  or  fifteen  years  longer?" 

Alvan  did  not  answer  immediately.  For 
several  moments  he  hung  his  head  in  some 
confusion.  Then,  with  a  half  laugh  and  a 
whole  blush,  he  said : 

"N — no,  sir ;  I  do  not,  honestly.  That  is  not 
—not  anywhere  near  your  equal,  sir." 

[128] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 


"I  am  inclined  to  be  of  your  opinion — 
without  offence,  my  boy,"  said  Blitzen,  lay 
ing  his  hand  on  Alvan's  shoulder  paternally. 
"Like  poets,  magicians  are  born,  not  made. 
You  might  attain  to  a  fair  degree  of  profi 
ciency,  but  that  is  not  enough.  You  don't  want 
to  content  yourself  with  being  merely  a  clever 
mountebank,  with  a  bag  of  more  or  less 
familiar  tricks  to  amuse  school  children  on  a 
holiday,  or  amaze  gaping  rustics  at  a  county 
fair.  Whatever  you  choose  as  your  life  work 
you  hope  and  intend  to  excel  in,  if  I  estimate 
you  rightly.  I  have  been  happily  able  to  help 
you  over  a  rough  place  in  the  path  of  your 
life,  and  I  shall  always  recall  our  connection 
with  pleasure,  but  now  I  can  not  do  other 
wise  than  recommend  you  to  accept  Mr.  Jew- 
ett's  proposal.  May  good  fortune  attend  you 
always !" 

So  Alvan  returned  to  the  china  and  glass 
ware  business,  and  as  time  goes  on  the  kind- 
hearted  conjurer's  good  wishes  for  him  seem 
[129] 


BLITZEN  THE  CONJURER 

likely  to  be  fulfilled.  Slowly,  perhaps,  but 
very  surely  he  is  on  his  way  toward  the  "top." 
Wallace  Hines,  too,  is  doing  well — so  much 
better,  indeed,  than  might  have  been  feared 
that  it  seems  as  if  he  must  have  profited  by 
the  severe  lesson  he  received  to  amend  his 
ways.  As  for  Mr.  James  Naylor,  he  fled  away 
in  the  darkness  after  writing  out  his  confes 
sion,  and  was  seen  in  town  no  more. 


[130] 


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